Totalitarianism, in political science, system of government and ideology in which all social, political, economic, intellectual, cultural, and spiritual activities are subordinated to the purposes of the rulers of the state (source: http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761574819/totalitarianism.html). George Orwell in his novel 1984 depicts a totalitarian society of his imagination in the future year 1984 where government in Oceania gains unlimited power throughout England over a poor population by the implementation of dictatorship. The people living there were monitored every second by the means of Telescreens, thought police, secret microphones and cameras, etc. I believe that this kind of leadership and government where there is a much likely tendency to abuse power and misuse information will have a tremendous impact on the freedom and thoughts of each individual because everyone tries not to get in trouble and lead an as peaceful life as possible.
To gain power and establish a totalitarian society, the main method used is inducing fear in to the people. The ruler or the man in power can do what ever he wants to and run the society according to his will and wishes. He uses the power of propaganda to gain this kind of power. People start to believe him because he keeps repeating again and again about how wonderful and well established he is and how he will help the people which manipulate the minds. Once the power is in his hands, nothing can go wrong or against in individual actions and thinking.
In a totalitarian society, there is always someone or a group of people that get blamed for all the bad happenings in the state, whether it is their fault or not. For example, in Nazi Germany it was the Jews and in Russia it was the Kulaks. They were accused of every bad thing that happened in the society. Propaganda was used to publicize them which made everything believable. This allowed them to imprison these groups and kill them if needed. In this kind of leadership, the only person talking is the ruler of the state. In the book 1984, it was BIG BROTHER.
In 1984, each individual was manipulated psychologically by the use of telescreens and secret microphones. These instruments invaded privacy and left no choice for the individual to function how they wanted to or think what they wanted to. These telescreens could not be turned off completely and people stayed in a belief that BIG BROTHER, under whose control the society is, is watching them and every action performed by them. Winston turned the switch on and the voice sank somewhat, though the words were still distinguishable. The instrument (the telescreen it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it completely off (source: 1984 book p.4).
Double think, a method where two contradictory subjects are held in ones mind, is used in this novel to show that people can change what they value and respect, but still can get a thought of their past. The success of the party is the result of manipulation of everyones mind. Especially during the war time, the party shows that newspeak must be spoken by everyone, in order gain victory. OBrian discloses the partys thoughts and what they are willing to do control the future. Orwell in this novel describes the harsh totalitarian government and society and shows the state of madness and tension. The junior spies believed that, Thought crime was not a thing that could be concealed forever. Consequently, the party uses unwritten history and information to further dictate the present.
George Orwell through this book is trying to warn us about the dangers of totalitarianism. He wrote this book in 1949 expressing his thoughts of a totalitarian society in 1984. He depicts it very well, in a way that induces fear of this kind of government in to people who read it. From this book, we can tell that Orwell had a deep resentment against totalitarianism and what it stood for. He understood the consequences, dangers and how the problem could become larger due to instability in Europes economy after World War II. He purposely makes this story terrifying and unrealistic to get peoples attention and warn them of the dangers that may arise in near future.
In conclusion, I believe that abuse of power or misuse of information can be harmful and can threaten ones freedom of life and thought. Even today, we try to live by how the society is but not really how we want to. Our thoughts even today are affected by the changing society and political drama. Compared to what Orwell described, our society is at a much better stand, but still is able to influence individual thoughts and freedom. This gives us a total image of what a complete totalitarian government can do to us.
Sources:
- http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761574819/totalitarianism.html
- Dictionary.com
- 1984 by George Orwell
- http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JZS/is_/ai_n25006064
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