“The best books… are those that tell you what you know already.”

–George Orwell

Fixating on Nazi Germany hasn’t been depressing enough, so I decided to revisit one of my favourite classic dystopian novels. When it was published in 1949, George Orwell’s 1984 was prescient in its exploration of pervasive government surveillance, mind control, propaganda, and the erosion of personal freedoms. I remember how relieved I was to read it in the late 1980s, safe in the knowledge that those bad things had not happened.

Oops.

Two of the many prescient elements in 1984 are the concepts of “doublethink,” where contradictory beliefs can be held simultaneously, and “newspeak,” a language designed to limit free thought. These ideas mirror—and maybe even inspire– totalitarian propaganda techniques throughout history. From Nazi Germany’s state-controlled “Big Lie” to the Soviet Union’s revisionist history, Orwell’s depiction of the manipulation of truth to serve a regime has played out time and again.

Even before the invention of Siri and Alexa, Orwell described a society where omnipresent screens, hidden microphones, and the Thought Police eliminated personal privacy.  He would probably be shocked but not surprised by the development of facial recognition software, social credit systems, and widespread censorship to suppress dissent. Even in democratic nations, mass data collection by corporations and intelligence agencies has the potential to be used against “enemies of the state.”

When 1984 was first published, many readers questioned whether Orwell’s critique was directed at Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union under Stalin. While Orwell was a staunch anti-fascist and opposed Hitler’s regime, and his primary inspiration for 1984 was the authoritarianism of the Soviet Union and the repressive tactics of Stalin’s government, the main target of his concern was developments in his home country. Earnest university students like me have debated whether Orwell intended 1984 to be a commentary on past regimes or a warning about future ones. Either way, his depiction of government overreach and the dangers of absolute power remains universally relevant.

One of the most relevant aspects of 1984 today is the erosion of individual autonomy. Winston Smith, the main character, struggles against the Party’s control but ends up physically and mentally crushed. HIs fate highlights the ways totalitarianism seeks to subjugate individuals. Today, political movements that suppress free expression, whether through censorship, mass imprisonment, or forced ideological conformity, reflect Orwell’s warnings about personal agency.

Numerous other writers have been inspired by1984. Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) explores the dangers of totalitarianism through a different lens, depicting a dystopian theocracy where women are stripped of their rights and forced into subjugation. Atwood’s novel, like Orwell’s, warns of the consequences of unchecked power and the use of fear and propaganda to control a population. Similarly, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 (1953) delves into censorship and the suppression of independent thought, portraying a society that bans books and discourages critical thinking. Both novels borrow heavily from Orwell’s warnings about the manipulation of truth and the dangers of state control.

1984 is a book that remains as important now as it was in Orwell’s time. As new forms of authoritarianism emerge, Orwell’s insights serve as a reminder of what can happen when regimes go unchecked.

Let’s hope knowledge really is power this time around.