George Orwell to Help Us Understand ---- Always cited and little read as
a political thinker, even a philosopher, George Orwell deserves a morein-depth approach. Even if his method of analysis relies on facts and
evidence, like a journalist, even if he knows how to write while holding
his reader's attention, Orwell is not a writer of dystopia, or even
science fiction. The derivatives of 1984, the films, the comics, while
undoubtedly sympathetic, miss the profound reflection of this freedom
fighter. His words find a favorable audience in libertarian circles.
They should also inspire people to fight for freedom. Thus, in June
1949, he declared about his novel: "The moral to be drawn from this
dangerous nightmare is simple. Don't let it happen. That's up to you."
In these times of social apathy, in the eyes of some, this call must
reach them and mobilize them.
Jean-Jacques Rosat, professor of philosophy, is a specialist in Orwell's
work. I had the opportunity to appreciate his book, As I Like It,
published in 2008 by Agone. He offers us a work devoted to a major point
of Orwellian thought, the title of his book, The Spirit of
Totalitarianism, published by Hors d'Attachment. As his editor Marie
Hermann points out, Jean-Jacques Rosat draws on 1984 and links it with
letters, articles, and essays to invite us to discover the heart of
power according to Orwell, the motivations of leaders, and the dizzying
effects of that same power. Let's quote the author: "According to
Orwell, the primary motive of totalitarian regimes should be sought
neither in the economic sphere nor in ideology, but in politics and the
will to power." Each of them has built an economic and social system,
but if their continued power requires it, they can undo it and rebuild
another. As for ideology, they remodel it as they see fit." Obviously,
Orwell has before his eyes the totalitarianisms of his time, Nazism,
Communism. And if Nazism did not have time to remodel itself in 1945, it
can still return more sophisticated; Communism has thrown away its
Marxist trappings to rise again today, in the form of an
authoritarianism devoid of any ideology in Russia. Nicolas Nicolas
Werth's book, A State Against Its People. From Lenin to Putin (Ed. Les
Belles lettres, coll. Le gout de l'Histoire, 2025), easily demonstrates
this. Orwell also feared that other countries would adopt this type of
regime, as was the case with China and Cambodia (Anne-Laure Porée, The
Language of Angkar, Khmer Rouge Lessons of Annihilation, Ed La
Découverte, coll. A la Source, 2025). He worried about the improvement
of propaganda and communication techniques, and therefore their
dangerousness. Jean-Jacques Rosat takes up this approach and establishes
a direct link with Xi Jinping, Putin, and Kim Jong-un. He questions the
mind-control efforts at work in liberal democracies. Yes, Orwell writes
for the future, "it is time today to read Orwell as a thinker for the
21st century."[...]From 1936 to 1940, he was convinced that two
fundamental trends inherent in modern industrial societies-the
concentration, nationalization, and collectivization of the economy and
social life, on the one hand, and the exponential development of
propaganda, surveillance, and information control techniques, on the
other-provided eminently favorable conditions for this new type of
dictatorship."
Fragile Democracies
For Orwell, democracies are fragile. He draws this observation from the
procrastination and hesitation of Western democracies during the Spanish
Civil War, the beginnings of the Second World War. Let us recall the
cowardice of European leaders during Munich (Maurizio Serra, Munich
1938, The Impossible Peace, Ed. Perrin, 2024). Upon his return from the
Spanish Civil War, the source of his book Homage to Catalonia, he noted
with dismay the submissiveness of European minds. He denounces, with
supporting evidence, the use of double-talk. This Newspeak can be found
in 1984 and in the speeches of the leaders of totalitarian states, but
not only in their own countries. Orwell investigates through the novel,
as in Animal Farm. "He saw it as the most appropriate instrument of
knowledge and thought to pursue his investigation and bring it to a
successful conclusion." He also denounces the charade of the Moscow
trials, and 1984 echoes this.
Totalitarianism at its peak
In this latest novel, he seeks to describe a type of political regime
unprecedented in history and to understand its fundamental principles.
Knowing the similarities and differences between the two regimes, Hitler
and Stalin, he searches for "elementary and matrix" invariants, refining
his work on nuances. In the first two parts of the novel, Orwell studies
the totalitarian system and imagines a regime that future totalitarian
leaders could devise and build within a generation. It is
totalitarianism taken to its extreme. In the third part, he questions
the leaders and their impulses. He creates the character of O'Brien, who
embodies the totalitarian mentality taken to its extreme.
Orwell's thinking is based on facts, a realistic fiction. As such, it
provides food for thought because any reader can "concretely see
themselves in it." Continuing his work, which is committed to the
concept of objective truth so dear to George Orwell, Jean-Jacques Rosat
offers us a fascinating journey and a rereading of these novels to
enlighten us and open our eyes to the future. Orwell, always relevant!
* Jean-Jacques Rosat
The Spirit of Totalitarianism
Ed. Out of Reach, 2025
https://monde-libertaire.fr/?articlen=8463
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