THE THEORY THEORY AND PRACTICE PRACTICE OF OLIGARCHICAL COLLECTIVISM (The 'Book within a Book' Book' !o" Geo!#e O!we$$'% Nineteen Ei#ht&Fo!)
*& E""ane$ Go$+%tein http://www.newspeakdictionary.com/
Chapter 1 - Ignorance is Strength Chapter 2 - Freedom is Slavery Chapter 3 - ar is !eace
Chapter I Ignorance is Strength
"hro#gho#t recorded time$ and pro%a%ly since the end o& the 'eolithic (ge$ there have %een three kinds o& people in the world$ the )igh$ the *iddle$ and the +ow. "hey have %een s#%divided in many ways$ they have %orne co#ntless di&&erent names$ and their
relative n#m%ers$ as well as their attit#de towards one another$ have varied &rom age to age: %#t the essential str#ct#re o& society has nev er altered. ,ven a&ter enormo#s #pheavals and seemingly irrevoca%le changes$ chan ges$ the same pattern has always reasserted itsel&$ #st as a gyroscope will always ret#rn to e#ili%ri#m$ however &ar it is p #shed one way or the other. "he aims o& these three gro#ps are entirely irreconcila%le. "he aim o& the )igh is to remain where they are. "he aim o& the *iddle is to change places with the )igh. "he aim o& the +ow$ when they have an aim -- &or it is an a%iding characteristic o& the +ow that they are too m#ch cr#shed %y dr#dgery to %e more than intermittently conscio#s o& anything o#tside their daily lives -- is to a%olish all distinctions and create a society in which all men shall %e e#al. e# al. "h#s thro#gho#t history a str#ggle which is the same in its main o#tlines rec#rs over and over again. For long periods the )igh seem to %e sec#rely in power$ %#t sooner or later there always comes a moment when they lose either their %elie& in themselves or their capacity to govern e&&iciently$ or %oth. "hey are then overthrown %y the *iddle$ who enlist the +ow on their side %y pretending to them that they are &ighting &or li%erty and #stice. (s soon as they have reached their o%ective$ the *iddle thr#st the +ow %ack into their old position o& servit#de$ and themselves %ecome the )igh. !resently a new *iddle gro#p splits o&& &rom one o& the other gro#ps$ or &rom %oth o& them$ and the str#ggle %egins over again. & the three gro#ps$ only the +ow are never even temporarily s#ccess&#l in achieving their aims. It wo#ld %e an e0aggeration to say that thro#gho#t history there has %een no progress o& a material kind. ,ven today$ in a period o& decline$ the average h#man %eing is physically %etter o&& than he was a &ew cent#ries ago. #t no advance in wealth$ no so&tening o& manners$ no re&orm or revol#tion has ever %ro#ght h#man e#ality a millimetre nearer. From the point o& view o& the +ow$ no historic change has ever meant m#ch more than a change in the name o& their masters. y the late nineteenth cent#ry the rec#rrence o& this pattern had %ecome o%vio#s to many o%servers. "here then rose schools o& thinkers who interpreted history as a cyclical process and claimed to show that ine#ality was the #naltera%le law o& h#man li&e. "his doctrine$ o& co#rse$ had always had h ad its adherents$ %#t in the manner in which it was now p#t &orward there was a signi&icant change. In the past the need &or a hierarchical &orm o& society had %een the doctrine speci&ically o& the )igh. It had %een preached %y kings and aristocrats and %y the priests$ lawyers$ and the like who were parasitical #pon them$ and it had generally %een so&tened %y promises o& compensation in an imaginary world %eyond the grave. "he *iddle$ so long as it was str#ggling &or power$ had always made #se o& s#ch terms as &reedom$ #stice$ and &raternity. 'ow$ howev er$ the concept o& h#man %rotherhood %egan to %e assailed %y people who were not yet in positions o& command$ %#t merely hoped to %e so %e&ore long. In the past the *iddle had made revol#tions #nder the %anner o& e#ality$ and then had esta%lished a &resh tyranny as soon as the old one was overthrown. "he new *iddle gro#ps in e&&ect proclaimed their tyranny %e&orehand. Socialism$ a theory which appeared in the early nineteenth cent#ry and was the last link in a chain o& tho#ght tho#g ht stretching %ack to the slave re%ellions o& anti#ity$ was still deeply in&ected %y the topianism o& past ages. #t in each variant o& Socialism that appeared &rom a%o#t 144 onwards the aim o& esta%lishing li%erty and e#ality was more and more
openly a%andoned. "he new movements which appeared in the middle years o& the cent#ry$ Ingsoc in ceania$ 'eo-olshevism in ,#rasia$ 5eath-orship$ as it is commonly called$ in ,astasia$ had the conscio#s aim o& perpet#ating #n&reedom and ine#ality. "hese new movements$ o& co#rse$ grew o#t o& the old ones and tended to keep their names and pay lip-service to their ideology. #t the p#rpose o& all o& them was to arrest progress and &ree6e history at a chosen moment. "he &amiliar pend#l#m swing was to happen once more$ and then stop. (s #s#al$ the )igh were to %e t#rned o#t %y the *iddle$ who wo#ld then %ecome the )igh7 %#t this time$ %y conscio#s strategy$ the )igh wo#ld %e a%le to maintain their position permanently. "he new doctrines arose partly %eca#se o& the acc#m#lation o& historical knowledge$ and the growth o& the historical sense$ which had hardly e0isted %e&ore the nineteenth cent#ry. "he cyclical movement o& history was now intelligi%le$ or appeared to %e so7 and i& it was intelligi%le$ then it was altera%le. #t the principal$ #nderlying ca# se was that$ as early as the %eginning o& the twentieth cent#ry$ h#man e#ality had %ecome technically possi%le. It was still tr#e that men were not e#al in their native talents and that &#nctions had to %e speciali6ed in ways that &avo#red some individ#als ag ainst others7 %#t there was no longer any real need &or class distinctions or &or large di&&erences o& wealth. In earlier ages$ class distinctions had %een not only o nly inevita%le %#t desira%le. Ine#ality was the price o& civili6ation. ith the development o& machine prod#ction$ however$ the case was altered. ,ven i& it was still necessary &or h#man %eings to do di&&erent kinds o& work$ it was no longer necessary &or them to live at di&&erent social or economic levels. "here&ore$ &rom the point o& view o& the new gro#ps who were on the point o& sei6ing power$ h#man e#ality was no longer an ideal to %e striven a&ter$ %#t a danger to %e averted. In more primitive ages$ when a #st and peace&#l society was in &act not possi%le$ it had %een &airly easy to %elieve it. "he idea o& an earthly paradise in which men sho#ld live together in a state o& %rotherhood$ witho#t laws and witho#t %r#te la%o#r$ had ha#nted the h#man imagination &or tho#sands o& years. (nd this vision had had a certain hold even on the gro#ps who act#ally pro&ited %y each historical change. "he heirs o& the French$ ,nglish$ and (merican revol#tions had partly %elieved %e lieved in their own phrases a%o#t the rights o& man$ &reedom o& speech$ e#ality %e&ore the law$ and the like$ and have even allowed their cond#ct to %e in&l#enced %y them to some e0tent. #t %y the &o#rth decade o& the twentieth cent#ry all the main c#rrents o& political tho#ght were a#thoritarian. "he earthly paradise had %een discredited at e0actly the moment when it %ecame reali6a%le. ,very new political theory$ %y whatever name it called itsel&$ led %ack to hierarchy and regimentation. (nd in the general hardening o& o#tlook that set in ro#nd a%o#t 134$ practices which had %een long a%andoned$ in some cases &or h#ndreds o& years -imprisonment witho#t trial$ the #se o& war prisoners as slaves$ p#%lic e0ec#tions$ tort#re to e0tract con&essions$ the #se o& hostages$ and the deportation o& whole pop#lations-not only %ecame common again$ %#t were tolerated and even de&ended %y people who considered themselves enlightened and progressive. It was only a&ter a decade o& national wars$ civil wars$ revol#tions$ and co#nterrevol#tions in all parts o& the world that Ingsoc an d its rivals emerged as &#lly worked-o#t political theories. #t they had %een &oreshadowed %y the vario#s systems$ generally called totalitarian$ which had appeared earlier in the cent#ry$ and the main o#tlines o& the
world which wo#ld emerge &rom the prevailing chaos had long %een o%vio#s. hat kind o& people wo#ld control this world had %een e#ally o%vio#s. "he new aristocracy was made #p &or the most part o& %#rea#crats$ scientists$ technicians$ trade-#nion organi6ers$ p#%licity e0perts$ sociologists$ teachers$ o#rnalists$ o#rnalists$ and pro&essional politicians. "hese people$ whose origins lay in the salaried middle class and the #pper grades o& the working class$ had %een shaped and %ro#ght together %y the %arren world o& monopoly ind#stry and centrali6ed government. (s compared with their opposite n#m%ers in past ages$ they were less avaricio#s$ less tempted %y l#0#ry$ h#ngrier &or p#re power$ and$ a%ove all$ more conscio#s o& what they were doing and more intent on cr#shing opposition. "his last di&&erence was cardinal. y comparison with that e0isting today$ all the tyrannies o& the past were hal&-hearted and ine&&icient. "he r#ling gro#ps were always in&ected to some e0tent %y li%eral ideas$ and were content to leave loose ends everywhere$ to regard only the overt act and to %e #ninterested in what their s#%ects were thinking. ,ven the Catholic Ch#rch o& the *iddle (ges was tolerant %y modern standards. !art o& the reason &or this was that in the past no government g overnment had the power to keep its citi6ens #nder constant s#rveillance. "he invention o& print$ p rint$ however$ made it easier to manip#late p#%lic opinion$ and the &ilm and the radio carried the process &#rther. ith the development o& television$ and the technical advance which made it possi%le to receive and transmit sim#ltaneo#sly on the same instr#ment$ private li&e came to an end. ,very citi6en$ or at least every citi6en important eno#gh to %e worth watching$ co#ld %e kept &or twenty-&o#r ho#rs a day #nder the eyes o& the police and in the so#nd o& o&&icial propaganda$ with all other channels o& comm#nication closed. "he possi%ility o& en&orcing not only complete o%edience o% edience to the will o& the State$ %#t complete #ni&ormity o& opinion on all s#%ects$ now e0isted &or the &irst time. (&ter the revol#tionary period o& the &i&ties and si0ties$ society regro#ped itsel&$ as always$ into )igh$ *iddle$ and +ow. #t the new )igh gro#p$ #nlike all its &orer#nners$ did not act #pon instinct %#t knew what was needed to sa&eg#ard its position. It had long %een reali6ed that the only sec#re %asis &or oligarchy is collectivism. ealth ealth and privilege are most easily de&ended when they are possessed ointly. "he so-called 8a%olition o& private property8 which took place in the middle years o& the cent#ry meant$ in e&&ect$ the concentration o& property in &ar &ewer hands than %e&ore: %#t with this di&&erence$ that the new owners were a gro#p instead o& a mass o& individ#als. Individ#ally$ no mem%er o& the !arty owns anything$ e0cept petty personal %elongings. Collectively$ the !arty owns everything in ceania$ %eca#se it controls everything$ and disposes o& the prod#cts as it thinks &it. In the years &ollowing the 9evol#tion it was a%le to step into this commanding position almost #nopposed$ %eca#se the whole process was represented as an act o& collectivi6ation. It had always %een ass#med that i& the capitalist class were e0propriated$ Socialism m#st &ollow: and #n#estiona%ly the capitalists had %een e0propriated. Factories$ mines$ land$ ho#ses$ transport -- everything had %een taken away &rom them: and since these things were no longer private property$ it &ollowed that they m#st %e p#%lic property. Ingsoc$ which grew o#t o& the earlier Socialist movement and inherited its phraseology$ has in &act carried o#t the main item in the Socialist programme7 with the res#lt$ &oreseen and intended %e&orehand$ that economic ine#ality has %een made permanent.
#t the pro%lems o& perpet#ating a hierarchical society go deeper than this. "here are only &o#r ways in which a r#ling gro#p can &all &rom power. ,ither it is con #ered &rom witho#t$ or it governs so ine&&iciently that the masses are stirred to revolt$ or it allows a strong and discontented *iddle gro#p to come into %eing$ or it loses its own sel&con&idence and willingness to govern. "hese ca#ses do not operate singly$ and as a r#le all &o#r o& them are present in some degree. ( r#ling class which co#ld g#ard against all o& them wo#ld remain in power permanently. ltimately the determining &actor is the mental attit#de o& the r#ling class itsel&. (&ter the middle o& the present cent#ry$ the &irst danger had in reality disappeared. ,ach o& the three powers which now divide the world is in &act #ncon#era%le$ and co#ld only %ecome con#era%le thro#gh slow demographic changes which a government with wide powers can easily avert. "he second danger$ also$ is only a theoretical one. "he masses never revolt o& their own accord$ and they never revolt merely %eca#se they are oppressed. Indeed$ so long as they are not permitted to have standards o& comparison$ they never even %ecome aware that they are oppressed. "he rec#rrent economic crises o& past times were totally #nnecessary and are not now permitted to happen$ %#t other and e#ally large dislocations can and do happen witho#t having political res#lts$ %eca#se there is no way in which discontent can %ecome artic#late. (s &or the pro%lem o& overprod#ction$ which has %een latent in o#r society since the development o& machine techni#e$ it is solved %y the device o& contin#o#s war&are see Chapter III;$ which is also #se&#l in keying #p p#%lic morale to the necessary pitch. From the point p oint o& view o& o#r present r#lers$ there&ore$ the only gen#ine dangers are the splitting-o&& o& a new gro#p o& a%le$ #nderemployed$ power-h#ngry people$ and the growth o& li%eralism and scepticism in their own ranks. "he pro%lem$ p ro%lem$ that is to say$ is ed#cational. It is a p ro%lem o& contin#o#sly mo#lding the conscio#sness %oth o& the directing gro#p and o& the larger e0ec#tive gro#p that lies immediately %elow it. "he conscio#sness o& the masses needs only to %e in&l#enced in a negative way.
per cent o& the pop#lation. In the terms o& o#r earlier classi&ication$ classi&ication$ the proles are the +ow: &or the slave pop#lation o& the e#atorial lands who pass constantly &rom con#eror to con#eror$ are not a permanent or necessary part o& the str#ct#re.
In principle$ mem%ership o& these three gro#ps is not hereditary. "he child o& Inner !arty parents is in theory not %orn into the Inner !arty. (dmission to either %ranch o& the !arty is %y e0amination$ taken at the age o& si0teen. 'or is there any an y racial discrimination$ or any marked domination o& one province %y another. ?ews$ 'egroes$ So#th (mericans o& p#re Indian %lood are to %e &o#nd in the highest ranks o& the !arty$ and the administrators o& any area are always drawn &rom the inha%itants o& that area. In no part o& ceania do the inha%itants have the &eeling that they are a colonial pop#lation r#led &rom a distant capital. ceania has no capital$ and its tit#lar head is a person whose wherea%o#ts no%ody knows. ,0cept that ,nglish is its chie& ling#a &ranca and 'ewspeak its o&&icial lang#age$ it is not centrali6ed in any way. wa y. Its r#lers are not held together %y %lood-ties % lood-ties %#t %y adherence to a common co mmon doctrine. It is tr#e that o#r society is strati&ied$ and very rigidly strati&ied$ on what at &irst sight appear to %e he reditary lines. "here is &ar less to- and-&ro movement %etween the di&&erent gro#ps than happened #nder capitalism or even in the pre-ind#strial age. etween the two %ranches o& the !arty there is a certain amo#nt o& interchange$ %#t only so m#ch as will ens#re that weaklings are e0cl#ded &rom the Inner !arty and that am%itio#s mem%ers o& the #ter !arty are made harmless %y allowing them to rise. !roletarians$ in practice$ are not allowed to grad#ate into the !arty. "he most gi&ted among them$ who might possi%ly po ssi%ly %ecome n#clei o& discontent$ are simply marked down %y the "ho#ght !olice and eliminated. #t this state o& a&&airs is not necessarily permanent$ nor is it a matter o& principle. "he !arty is not a class in the old sense o& the word. It does not aim at transmitting power to its own children$ as s#ch7 and i& there were no other way o& keeping the a%lest people at the top$ it wo#ld %e per&ectly prepared to recr#it an entire new generation &rom the ranks o& the proletariat. In the cr#cial years$ the &act that the !arty was not a hereditary %ody did a great deal to ne#trali6e opposition. "he older kind o& Socialist$ who had %een trained to &ight against something called 8 class privilege8 ass#med that what is not hereditary cannot %e permanent. )e did not see that the contin#ity o& an oligarchy need not %e physical$ nor did he pa#se to re&lect that hereditary aristocracies have always %een shortlived$ whereas adoptive organi6ations s#ch as the Catholic Ch#rch have hav e sometimes lasted &or h#ndreds or tho#sands o& years. "he essence o& oligarchical r#le is not &ather-to-son inheritance$ %#t the persistence o& a certain world-view and a certain way o& li&e$ imposed %y the dead #pon the living. ( r#ling gro#p is a r#ling gro#p so long as it can nominate its s#ccessors. "he ! arty is not concerned with perpet#ating its %lood %#t %# t with perpet#ating itsel&. ho wields power is not important$ provided that the hierarchical str#ct#re remains always the same. (ll the %elie&s$ ha%its$ tastes$ emotions$ mental attit#des that characteri6e o#r time are really designed to s#stain the mysti#e o& the !arty and prevent the tr#e nat#re o& presentday society &rom %eing perceived. !hysical re%ellion$ or any preliminary move towards re%ellion$ is at present not possi%le. From the proletarians nothing is to %e &eared. +e&t to themselves$ they will contin#e &rom generation to gen eration and &rom cent#ry to cent#ry$ working$ %reeding$ and dying$ not only witho#t any imp#lse to re%el$ %#t witho#t the power o& grasping that the world co#ld %e other than it is. "hey co#ld only %ecome dangero#s i& the advance o& ind#strial techni#e made it necessary to ed#cate them more highly7 %#t$ since military and commercial rivalry are no longer important$ the level o& pop#lar ed#cation is act#ally declining. hat opinions the masses hold$ or do not hold$ is
looked on as a matter o& indi&&erence. "hey can %e granted intellect#al li%erty %eca#se they have no intellect. In a !arty mem%er$ on the other hand$ not even the smallest deviation o& opinion on the most #nimportant s#%ect can %e tolerated. ( !arty mem%er lives &rom %irth to death #nder the eye o& the "ho#ght !olice. ,ven when he is alone he can never %e s#re that he is alone. herever he may %e$ asleep or awake$ working or resting$ in his %ath or in %ed$ he can %e inspected witho#t warning and witho#t knowing that he is %eing inspected. 'othing that he does is indi&&erent. )is &riendships$ his rela0ations$ his %ehavio#r towards his wi&e and children$ the e0pression o& his &ace when he is alone$ the words he m#tters in sleep$ even e ven the characteristic movements o& his %ody$ are all ealo#sly scr#tini6ed. 'ot only any act#al misdemeano#r$ %#t any eccentricity$ however small$ any change o& ha%its$ any nervo#s mannerism that co#ld possi%ly %e the symptom o& an inner str#ggle$ is certain to %e detected. )e has no &reedom o& choice in any direction whatever. n the other hand his actions are not reg#lated %y law or %y any clearly &orm#lated code o& %ehavio#r. In ceania there is no law. "ho#ghts and actions which$ when detected$ mean certain death are not &ormally &or%idden$ and the endless p#rges$ arrests$ tort#res$ imprisonments$ imprisonments$ and vapori6ations are not in&licted as p#nishment &or crimes which have act#ally %een committed$ %#t are merely the wiping-o#t o& persons who might perhaps commit a crime at some time in the &#t#re. ( !arty mem%er is re#ired to have not only the right opinions$ %#t the right instincts. *any o& the %elie&s and attit#des demanded o& him are never plainly stated$ and co#ld not %e stated witho#t laying %are the contradictions inherent in Ingsoc. I& he is a person nat#rally orthodo0 in 'ewspeak a goodthinker;$ he will in all circ#mstances know$ witho#t taking tho#ght$ what is the tr#e %elie& or the desira%le emotion. #t in an y case an ela%orate mental training$ #ndergone in childhood and gro#ping itsel& ro#nd the 'ewspeak words crimestop$ %lackwhite$ and do#%lethink$ makes him #nwilling and #na%le to think too deeply on any s#%ect whatever. ( !arty mem%er is e0pected to have no private emotions and no respites &rom enth#siasm. )e is s#pposed to live in a contin#o#s &ren6y o& hatred o& &oreign enemies e nemies and internal traitors$ tri#mph over victories$ and sel&-a%asement %e&ore the power and wisdom o& the !arty. "he discontents prod#ced %y his %are$ #nsatis&ying li&e are deli%erately t#rned o#twards and dissipated %y s#ch devices as the "wo *in#tes )ate$ and the spec#lations which might possi%ly ind#ce a sceptical or re%ellio#s attit#de are killed in advance %y his early ac#ired inner discipline. "he &irst and simplest stage in the discipline$ which can %e ta#ght even to yo#ng children$ is called$ in 'ewspeak$ crimestop. Crimestop means the &ac#lty o& stopping short$ as tho#gh %y instinct$ at the threshold o& any dangero#s tho#ght. It incl#des the power o& not grasping analogies$ an alogies$ o& &ailing to perceive logical errors$ o& mis#nderstanding the simplest arg#ments i& they are inimical to Ingsoc$ and o& %eing %ored or repelled %y any train o& tho#ght which is capa%le o& leading in a heretical direction. Crimestop$ in short$ means protective st#pidity. #t st#pidity is not eno#gh. n the contrary$ orthodo0y in the &#ll sense demands a control over one8s one 8s own mental processes as complete as that o& a contortionist over his %ody. ceanic society rests #ltimately on the %elie& that ig rother is omnipotent and that the !arty !a rty is in&alli%le. #t since in reality ig rother is not omnipotent and the party is not in&alli%le$ there is need &or an #nwearying$ moment-to-
moment &le0i%ility in the treatment o& &acts. "he keyword here is %lackwhite. +ike so many 'ewspeak words$ this word has two m#t#ally contradictory meanings. (pplied to an opponent$ it means the ha%it o& imp#dently claiming that %lack is white$ in contradiction o& the plain &acts. (pplied to a !arty mem%er$ it means a loyal willingness to say that %lack is white when !arty discipline demands this. #t it means also the a%ility to %elieve that %lack is white$ and more$ to know that %lack % lack is white$ and to &orget that one has ever %elieved the contrary. "his demands a contin#o#s alteration o& the past$ made possi%le %y the system o& tho#ght which really em%races all the rest$ and which is known in 'ewspeak as do#%lethink. "he alteration o& the past is necessary &or two reasons$ one o& which is s#%sidiary and$ so to speak$ preca#tionary. "he s#%sidiary reason is that the !arty mem%er$ like the proletarian$ tolerates present-day conditions partly %eca#se he has no standards o& comparison. )e m#st %e c#t o&& &rom the past$ #st as he m#st %e c#t o&& &rom &oreign co#ntries$ %eca#se it is necessary &or him to % elieve that he is %etter o&& than his ancestors and that the average level o& material com&ort is constantly rising. #t %y &ar the more important reason &or the read#stment o& the past is the need to sa&eg#ard the in&alli%ility o& the !arty. It is not merely that speeches$ speech es$ statistics$ and records o& every kind m#st %e constantly %ro#ght #p to date in order to show that the predictions o& the !arty were in all cases right. It is also that no change in doctrine or in political alignment can ever %e admitted. For to change one8s o ne8s mind$ or even one8s policy$ is a con&ession o& weakness. I&$ &or e0ample$ ,#rasia or ,astasia whichever it may % e; is the enemy today$ then that co#ntry m#st always have %een the enemy. (nd i& the &acts say otherwise then the &acts m#st %e altered. "h#s history is contin#o#sly rewritten. "his day- to-day &alsi&ication o& the past$ carried o#t %y the *inistry o& "r#th$ is as necessary to the sta%ility o& the regime as the work o& repression and espionage carried o#t %y the *inistry o& +ove. "he m#ta%ility o& the past is the central tenet o& Ingsoc. !ast events$ it is arg#ed$ have no o%ective e0istence$ %#t s#rvive only in written records and in h#man memories. "he past is whatever the records and the memories agree #pon. (nd since the !arty is in &#ll control o& all records and in e#ally e #ally &#ll control o& the minds o& its mem%ers$ it &ollows that the past is whatever the !arty chooses to make it. It also &ollows that tho#gh the past is altera%le$ it never has %een altered in any speci&ic instance. For when it has %een recreated in whatever shape is needed need ed at the moment$ then this new version is the past$ and no di&&erent past can ever have e0isted. "his holds good even when$ as o&ten happens$ the same event has to %e % e altered o#t o& recognition several times in the co#rse o& a year. (t all times the !arty is in possession o& a%sol#te tr#th$ and clearly the a%sol#te can never have %een di&&erent &rom what it is now. n ow. It will %e seen that the control o& the past depends a%ove all on the training o& memory. "o make s#re that all written records agree with the orthodo0y o& the moment is merely a mechanical act. #t it is also necessary to remem%er that events happened in the desired manner. (nd i& it is necessary to rearrange one8s memories or to tamper with written records$ then it is necessary to &orget that one has done so. "he trick o& doing this can %e learned like any other mental techni#e. It is learned %y the maority o& !arty mem%ers$ and certainly %y all who are intelligent as well as orthodo0. In ldspeak it is called$ #ite &rankly$ 8reality control8. In 'ewspeak it is called do#%lethink$ tho#gh do#%lethink comprises m#ch else as well.
5o#%lethink means the power o& holding h olding two contradictory %elie&s in one8s mind sim#ltaneo#sly$ and accepting %oth o& them. "he !arty intellect#al knows in which direction his memories m#st %e altered7 he there&ore knows that he is playing tricks with reality7 %#t %y the e0ercise o& do#%lethink do# %lethink he also satis&ies himsel& that reality is not violated. "he process has to %e conscio#s$ or it wo#ld not %e carried o#t with s#&&icient precision$ %#t it also has to %e #nconscio#s$ or it wo#ld %ring with it a &eeling o& &alsity &alsity and hence o& g#ilt. g #ilt. 5o#%lethink lies at the very heart o& Ingsoc$ since the essential act o& the !arty is to #se conscio#s deception dec eption while retaining the &irmness o& p#rpose that goes with complete honesty. "o tell deli%erate lies while gen#inely %elieving in them$ to &orget any &act that has %ecome inconvenient$ and then$ when it %ecomes necessary again$ to draw it %ack &rom o%livion &or #st so long as it is needed$ to deny the e0istence o& o%ective reality and all the while to take acco#nt o& the reality which one denies -- all this is indispensa%ly necessary. ,ven in #sing the word do#%lethink it is necessary to e0ercise do#%lethink. For %y #sing the word one admits that one is tampering with reality7 %y a &resh act o& do#%lethink one erases this knowledge7 and so on inde&initely$ with the lie always one leap ahead o& the tr#th. ltimately it is %y means o& do#%lethink that the !arty has %een a%le -- and may$ &or all we know$ contin#e to %e a%le &or tho#sands o& years -- to arrest the co#rse o& history. (ll past oligarchies have &allen &rom power either %eca#se they ossi&ied or %eca#se they grew so&t. ,ither they %ecame st#pid and arrogant$ &ailed to ad#st themselves to changing circ#mstances$ and were overthrown7 or they %ecame li%eral and cowardly$ made concessions when they sho#ld have #sed &orce$ and once again were overthrown. "hey &ell$ that is to say$ either thro#gh conscio#sness or thro#gh #nconscio#sness. It is the achievement o& the !arty to have prod#ced a system o& tho#ght in which %oth conditions can e0ist sim#ltaneo#sly. (nd #pon no other intellect#al %asis co#ld the dominion o& the !arty %e made permanent. I& one is to r#le$ and to contin#e r#ling$ one m#st %e a%le to dislocate the sense o& reality. For the secret o& r#lership is to com%ine a %elie& in one8s own in&alli%ility with the !ower to learn &rom past mistakes. It need hardly %e said that the s#%tlest practitioners o& do#%lethink are those who invented do#%lethink and know that it is a vast system o& mental cheating. In o#r society$ those who have the %est knowledge k nowledge o& what is happening are also those who are &#rthest &rom seeing the world as it is. In general$ the greater the #nderstanding$ the greater the del#sion7 the more intelligent$ the less sane. ne clear ill#stration o& this is the &act that war hysteria increases in intensity as one rises in the social scale. "hose whose attit#de towards the war is most nearly rational are the s#%ect peoples o& the disp#ted territories. "o these people the war is simply a contin#o#s calamity which sweeps to and &ro over their %odies like a tidal wave. hich side is winning is a matter o& complete indi&&erence to them. "hey are aware that a change o& overlordship o verlordship means simply that they will %e doing the same work as %e&ore %e &ore &or new masters who treat them in the same manner as the old ones. "he slightly more &avo#red workers whom we call 8the proles8 are only intermittently conscio#s o& the war. hen it is necessary they can %e prodded into &ren6ies o& &ear and hatred$ %#t when le&t to themselves they are capa%le o& &orgetting &or long periods that the war is happening. It is in the ranks o& the !arty$ and a%ove all o& the
Inner !arty$ that the tr#e war enth#siasm is &o#nd. orld-con#est is %elieved in most &irmly %y those who know it to %e impossi%le. "his pec#liar linking-together o& opposites -- knowledge with ignorance$ cynicism with &anaticism-is one o& the chie& disting#ishing marks o& ceanic society. "he o&&icial ideology a%o#nds with contradictions even when there is no practical reason &or them. "h#s$ the !arty reects and vili&ies every principle &or which the Socialist movement originally stood$ and it chooses to do this in the name o& Socialism. It preaches a contempt &or the working class #ne0ampled &or cent#ries past$ and it dresses its mem%ers in a #ni&orm which was at one time pec#liar to man#al workers and was adopted &or that reason. It systematically #ndermines the solidarity o& the &amily$ and it calls its leader %y a name which is a direct appeal to the sentiment o& &amily loyalty. ,ven the names o& the &o#r *inistries %y which we are governed e0hi%it a sort o& imp#dence in their deli%erate reversal o& the &acts. "he *inistry o& !eace concerns itsel& with war$ the *inistry o& "r#th with lies$ the *inistry o& +ove with tort#re and the *inistry o& !lenty with starvation. "hese contradictions are not accidental$ nor do they res#lt &rom ordinary hypocrisy7 they are deli%erate e0ercises in do#%lethink. For it is only %y reconciling contradictions that power can %e retained inde&initely. In no other way co#ld the ancient cycle %e %roken. I& h#man e#ality is to %e &or ever averted -- i& the )igh$ as we have called them$ are to keep their places permanently -- then the prevailing mental condition m#st %e controlled insanity. #t there is one #estion which #ntil this moment we have almost ignored. It is7 why sho#ld h#man e#ality %e averted@ S#pposing that the mechanics o& the process have %een rightly descri%ed$ what is the motive &or this h#ge$ acc#rately planned e&&ort to &ree6e history at a partic#lar moment o& time@ )ere we reach the central secret. (s we have seen. "he mysti#e o& the !arty$ and a%ove all o& the Inner !arty$ depends #pon do#%lethink. #t deeper than this lies the original motive$ the never-#estioned instinct that &irst led to the sei6#re o& power and %ro#ght do#%lethink$ the "ho#ght !olice$ contin#o#s war&are$ and all the other necessary paraphernalia into e0istence a&terwards. "his motive really consists... consists...
Chapter II Freedom is Slavery mmited &rom %ook;
Chapter III ar is !eace
"he splitting #p o& the world into three great s#per-states was an event which co#ld % e and indeed was &oreseen %e&ore the middle o& the twentieth cent#ry. ith the a%sorption o& ,#rope %y 9#ssia and o& the ritish ,mpire %y the nited States$ two o& the three e0isting powers$ ,#rasia and ceania$ were already e&&ectively in %eing. "he third$ ,astasia$ only emerged as a distinct #nit a&ter another decade o& con&#sed &ighting. "he &rontiers %etween the three s#per-states are in some places ar%itrary$ and in others they &l#ct#ate according to the &ort#nes o& war$ %#t in general they &ollow geographical lines. ,#rasia comprises the whole o& the northern pa rt o& the ,#ropean and (siatic land-mass$ &rom !ort#gal to the ering Strait. ceania comprises the (mericas$ the (tlantic islands incl#ding the ritish Isles$ (#stralasia$ and the so#thern portion o& (&rica. ,astasia$ smaller than the others and with a less de&inite western &rontier$ comprises China and the co#ntries to the so#th o& it$ the ?apanese islands and a large %#t &l#ct#ating portion o& *anch#ria$ *ongolia$ and "i%et.
"he "hree S#perstates
In one com%ination or another$ these three s#per-states are permanently at war$ and have %een so &or the past twenty-&ive years. ar$ however$ is no longer the desperate$ annihilating str#ggle that it was in the early decades o& the twentieth cent#ry. It is a war&are o& limited aims %etween com%atants who are #na%le to destroy one another$ have no material ca#se &or &ighting and are not divided %y any gen#ine ideological di&&erence. "his is not to say that either the cond#ct o& war$ or the prevailing attit#de towards it$ has %ecome less %loodthirsty or more chivalro#s. n the contrary$ war hysteria is contin#o#s contin#o#s and #niversal in all co#ntries$ and s#ch acts as raping$ looting$ the sla#ghter o& children$ the red#ction o& whole pop#lations to slavery$ and reprisals against prisoners which e0tend even to %oiling and %#rying alive$ are looked #pon as normal$ and$ when they are committed %y one8s own side and not %y the enemy$ meritorio#s. #t in a physical sense war involves very small n#m%ers o& people$ mostly highly-trained specialists$ and ca#ses comparatively &ew cas#alties. "he &ighting$ when there is any$ takes place on the vag#e &rontiers whose wherea%o#ts the average man can only g#ess at$ or ro#nd the Floating Fortresses which g#ard strategic spots on the sea lanes. In the centres o& civili6ation war means no more than a contin#o#s shortage o& cons#mption goods$ and the occasional crash o& a rocket %om% which may ca#se a &ew scores o& deaths. ar has in &act changed its character. *ore e0actly$ the reasons &or which war is waged have changed change d in their order o& importance. *otives which were already present to some small e0tent in the great wars o& the early twentieth cent#ry have now %ecome dominant and are conscio#sly recogni6ed and acted #pon.
"o #nderstand the nat#re o& the present war -- &or in spite o& the regro#ping which occ#rs every &ew years$ it is always the same war -- one m#st reali6e in the &irst place that it is impossi%le &or it to %e decisive. 'one o& the three s#per-states co#ld %e de&initively con#ered even %y the other two in com%ination. "hey are too evenly matched$ and their nat#ral de&enses are too &ormida%le. ,#rasia is protected % y its vast land spaces. ceania %y the width o& the (tlantic and the !aci&ic$ ,astasia %y the &ec#ndity and ind#strio#sness o& its inha%itants. Secondly$ there is no longer$ in a material sense$ anything to &ight a%o#t. ith the esta%lishment o& sel&-contained economies$ in which prod#ction and cons#mption are geared to one another$ the scram%le &or markets which was a main ca#se o& previo#s wars has come to an end$ while the competition &or raw materials is no longer a matter o& li&e and death. In any case each o& o & the three s#per-states is so vast that it can o%tain almost all the materials that it needs within its own %o# ndaries. In so &ar as the war has a direct economic p#rpose$ it is a war &or la%o#r power. etween the &rontiers o& the s#per- states$ and not permanently in the possession o& any o& them$ there lies a ro#gh #adrilateral with its corners at "angier$ ra66aville$ 5arwin$ and )ong Aong$ containing within it a%o#t a &i&th o& the pop#lation pop #lation o& the earth. It is &or the possession o& these thickly-pop#lated regions$ and o& the northern ice-cap$ that the three powers are constantly str#ggling. In practice no one power ever controls the whole o& the disp#ted area. !ortions o& it are constantly changing hands$ and it is the chance chan ce o& sei6ing this or that &ragment %y a s#dden stroke o& treachery that dictates the endless changes o& alignment.
(ll o& the disp#ted territories contain val#a%le minerals$ and some o& them yield important vegeta%le prod#cts s#ch as r#%%er which in colder climates it is necessary to synthesi6e %y comparatively e0pensive methods. #t a%ove all they contain a %ottomless reserve o& cheap la%o#r. hichever power controls e#atorial (&rica$ or the co#ntries o& the *iddle ,ast$ or So#thern India$ or o r the Indonesian (rchipelago$ disposes also o& the %odies o& scores or h#ndreds o& millions o& ill-paid and hard-working hard-working coolies. "he inha%itants o& these areas$ red#ced more or less openly to the stat#s o& slaves$ pass contin#ally &rom con#eror to con#eror$ and are e0pended like so m#ch coal or oil in the race to t#rn o#t more armaments$ to capt#re more territory$ to control more la%o#r power$ to t#rn o#t more armaments$ to capt#re more territory$ and so on inde&initely. It sho#ld %e noted that the &ighting never really moves %eyond the edges o& the disp#ted areas. "he &rontiers o& ,#rasia &low %ack and &orth %etween the %asin o& the Congo and the northern shore o& the *editerranean7 the islands o& the Indian cean and the !aci&ic are constantly %eing capt#red and recapt#red %y ceania or %y ,astasia7 in *ongolia the dividing line %etween ,#rasia and ,astasia is never sta%le7 ro#nd the !ole all three powers lay claim to enormo#s territories which in &act are largely #niha%ited and #ne0plored: %#t the %alance o& power always remains ro#ghly even$ and the territory which &orms the heartland o& each s#per-state always remains inviolate. *oreover$ the la%o#r o& the e0ploited peoples ro#nd the ,#ator is not really necessary to the world8s economy. "hey add nothing to the wealth o& the world$ since whatever they the y prod#ce is #sed &or p#rposes o& war$ and the o%ect o& waging a war is always to %e in a %etter position in which to wage another war. y their la%o#r the slave pop#lations allow the tempo o& contin#o#s war&are to %e
speeded #p. #t i& they did not e0ist$ the str#ct#re o& world society$ and the process %y which it maintains itsel&$ wo#ld not %e essentially di&&erent. "he primary aim o& modern war&are in accordance with the principles o& do#%lethink$ this aim is sim#ltaneo#sly recogni6ed and not recogni6ed %y the directing %rains o& the Inner !arty; is to #se #p the prod#cts o& the machine witho#t raising the general standard o& living. ,ver since the end o& the nineteenth cent#ry$ the pro%lem o& what to do with the s#rpl#s o& cons#mption goods has %een latent in ind#strial society. (t present$ when &ew h#man %eings even have eno#gh to eat$ this pro%lem is o%vio#sly not #rgent$ and it might not have %ecome so$ even i& no arti&icial processes o& destr#ction had %een at work. "he world o& today is a %are$ h#ngry$ dilapidated place compared with the world that e0isted %e&ore 11B$ and still more so i& compared with the imaginary &#t#re to which the people o& that period looked &orward. In the early twentieth cent#ry$ the vision o& a &#t#re society #n%elieva%ly rich$ leis#red$ orderly$ and e&&icient -- a glittering antiseptic world o& glass and steel and snow-white concrete -- was part o& the conscio#sness o& nearly every literate person. Science and technology were developing at a prodigio#s speed$ and it seemed nat#ral to ass#me that they wo#ld go on developing. "his &ailed to happen$ partly %eca#se o& the impoverishment ca#sed %y a long series o& wars and revol#tions$ partly %eca#se scienti&ic and technical progress depended on the empirical ha%it o& tho#ght$ which co#ld not s#rvive in a strictly regimented society. (s a whole the world is more primitive today than it was &i&ty years ago. Certain %ackward areas have advanced$ and vario#s devices$ always in some way connected with war&are and police espionage$ have %een developed$ %#t e0periment and invention have largely stopped$ and the ravages o& the atomic war o& the nineteen- &i&ties have never %een &#lly repaired. 'evertheless the dangers inherent in the machine are still there. From the moment when the machine &irst made its appearance it was clear to all thinking people that the need &or h#man dr#dgery$ and there&ore to a great e0tent &or h#man ine#ality$ had disappeared. I& the machine were #sed deli%erately &or that end$ h#nger$ overwork$ dirt$ illiteracy$ and disease co#ld %e eliminated within a &ew generations. (nd in &act$ witho#t %eing #sed &or any s#ch p#rpose$ %#t %y a sort o& a#tomatic process -- %y prod#cing wealth which it was sometimes impossi%le not to distri%#te -- the machine did raise the living standards o& the average h#man %eing very greatly over a period o& a%o#t &i&ty years at the end o& the nineteenth and the %eginning o& the twentieth cent#ries. #t it was also clear that an all-ro#nd increase in wealth threatened the destr#ction -indeed$ in some sense was the destr#ction -- o& a hierarchical society. In a world in which everyone worked short ho#rs$ had eno#gh to eat$ lived in a ho#se with a %athroom and a re&rigerator$ and possessed a motor-car or even an aeroplane$ the most o%vio#s and perhaps the most important &orm o& ine#ality wo#ld already have disappeared. I& it once %ecame general$ wealth wo#ld con&er no distinction. It was possi%le$ no do#%t$ to imagine a society in which wealth$ in the sense o& personal possessions and l#0#ries$ sho#ld %e evenly distri%#ted$ while power remained in the hands o& a small privileged caste. #t in practice s#ch a society co#ld not long remain sta%le. For i& leis#re and sec#rity were enoyed %y all alike$ the great mass o& h#man %eings who are normally st#pe&ied %y poverty wo#ld %ecome literate and wo#ld learn to think &or themselves7 and when once they had done this$ they wo#ld sooner or later reali6e that the privileged minority had no
&#nction$ and they wo#ld sweep it away. In the long r#n$ a hierarchical society was only possi%le on a %asis o& poverty and ignorance. "o ret#rn to the agric#lt#ral past$ as some thinkers a%o#t the %eginning o& the twentieth cent#ry dreamed o& doing$ was not a practica%le sol#tion. It con&licted with the tendency towards mechani6ation which had %ecome #asi-instinctive thro#gho#t almost the whole world$ and moreover$ any co#ntry which remained ind#strially %ackward was helpless in a military sense and was %o#nd to %e dominated$ directly or indirectly$ %y its more advanced rivals. 'or was it a satis&actory sol#tion sol#tion to keep the masses in poverty %y restricting the o#tp#t o& goods. "his happened to a great e0tent d#ring the &inal phase o& capitalism$ ro#ghly %etween 124 and 1B4. "he economy econo my o& many co#ntries was allowed to stagnate$ land went o#t o& c#ltivation$ capital e#ipment was not added to$ great %locks o& the pop#lation were prevented &rom working and kept hal& alive %y State charity. #t this$ too$ entailed military weakness$ and since the privations it in&licted were o%vio#sly #nnecessary$ it made opposition inevita%le. "he pro%lem was how to keep the wheels o& ind#stry t#rning witho#t increasing the real wealth o& the world.
ar$ it will %e seen$ accomplishes the necessary destr#ction$ %#t accomplishes it in a psychologically accepta%le way. In principle it wo#ld %e #ite simple to waste the s#rpl#s la%o#r o& the world %y %#ilding temples and pyramids$ %y digging holes and &illing them #p again$ or even %y prod#cing vast #antities o& goods and then setting &ire to them. #t this wo#ld provide only the economic and not the emotional %asis &or a hierarchical society. hat is concerned here is not the morale o& masses$ whose attit#de is #nimportant so long as they are kept steadily at work$ %#t the morale o& the !arty itsel&. ,ven the h#m%lest !arty mem%er is e0pected to %e competent$ ind#strio#s$ and even intelligent within narrow limits$ %#t it is also necessary that he sho#ld %e a cred#lo#s and ignorant &anatic whose prevailing moods are &ear$ hatred$ ad#lation$ and orgiastic tri#mph. In other words it is necessary that he sho#ld have the mentality appropriate to a state o& war. It does not matter whether the war is act#ally happening$ and$ since no decisive victory is possi%le$ it does not matter whether the war is going well or %adly. (ll that is needed is that a state o& war sho#ld e0ist. "he splitting o& the intelligence which the !arty re#ires o& its mem%ers$ and which is more easily achieved in an atmosphere o& war$ is now almost #niversal$ %#t the higher #p the ranks one goes$ the more marked it %ecomes. It is precisely in the Inner !arty that war hysteria hysteria and hatred o& the enemy are strongest. In his capacity as an administrator$ it is o&ten necessary &or a mem%er o& the Inner !arty to know that this or that item o& war news is #ntr#th&#l$ and he may o&ten %e aware that the entire war is sp#rio#s and is either not happening or is %eing waged &or p#rposes #ite other than the declared ones: %#t s#ch knowledge is easily ne#trali6ed %y the techni#e o& do#%lethink. *eanwhile no Inner !arty mem%er wavers &or an instant in his mystical %elie& that the war is real$ and that it is %o#nd to end victorio#sly$ with ceania the #ndisp#ted master o& the entire world. (ll mem%ers o& the Inner !arty %elieve in this coming con#est as an article o& &aith. It is to %e achieved either %y grad#ally ac#iring more and more territory and so %#ilding #p an overwhelming preponderance o& power$ or %y the discovery o& some new and #nanswera%le weapon. "he search &or new weapons contin#es #nceasingly$ and is one o& the very &ew remaining activities in which the inventive or spec#lative type o& mind can &ind any o#tlet. In ceania at the present day$ Science$ in the old sense$ has almost ceased to e0ist. In 'ewspeak there is no word &or 8Science8. "he empirical method o& tho#ght$ on which all the scienti&ic achievements o& the pa st were &o#nded$ is opposed to the most &#ndamental principles o& Ingsoc. (nd even technological progress only happens when its prod#cts can in some way %e #sed &or the dimin#tion o& h#man li%erty. In all the #se&#l arts the world is either standing still or going %ackwards. "he &ields are c#ltivated with horse-plo#ghs while %ooks are written %y machinery. #t in matters o& vital importance -meaning$ in e&&ect$ war and police espionage -- the empirical approach is still enco#raged$ or at least tolerated. "he two aims o& the !arty are to con#er the whole s#r&ace o& the earth and to e0ting#ish once and &or all the possi%ility o& independent tho#ght. "here are there&ore two great pro%lems which the !arty is con cerned to solve. ne is how to discover$ against his will$ what another h#man %eing is thinking$ and the other is how to kill several h#ndred million people in a &ew seconds witho#t giving warning %e&orehand. In so &ar as scienti&ic research still contin#es$ this is its s#%ect matter. "he scientist o& today is either a mi0t#re o& psychologist and in#isitor$ st#dying with real ordinary min#teness the meaning o& &acial e0pressions$ gest#res$ and tones o& voice$ and testing
the tr#th-prod#cing e&&ects o& dr#gs$ shock therapy$ hypnosis$ and physical tort#re7 or he is chemist$ physicist$ or %iologist concerned only with s#ch %ranches o& his special s#%ect as are relevant to the taking o& li&e. In the vast la%oratories o& the *inistry o& !eace$ and in the e0perimental stations hidden in the ra6ilian &orests$ or in the (#stralian desert$ or on lost islands o& the (ntarctic$ the teams o& e0perts are inde&atiga%ly at work. Some are concerned simply with planning the logistics o& &#t#re wars7 others devise larger and larger rocket %om%s$ more and more power&#l e0plosives$ and more and more impenetra%le armo#r- plating7 others search &or new and deadlier gases$ or &or sol#%le poisons capa%le o& %eing prod#ced in s#ch #antities #antities as to destroy the vegetation o& whole continents$ con tinents$ or &or %reeds o& disease germs imm#ni6ed against all possi%le anti%odies7 others strive to prod#ce a vehicle that shall %ore its way #nder the soil like a s#%marine #nder the water$ or an aeroplane as independent o& its %ase as a sailing-ship7 others e0plore even remoter possi%ilities s#ch as &oc#sing the s#n8s rays thro#gh lenses s#spended tho#sands o& kilometres away in space$ or prod#cing arti&icial earth#akes and tidal waves %y tapping the heat at the earth8s centre. #t none o& these proects ever comes anywhere near reali6ation$ and none o& the three s#per-states ever gains a signi&icant lead on the others. hat is more remarka%le is that all three powers already possess$ in the atomic %om%$ a weapon &ar more power&#l than any that their present researches are likely to discover. (ltho#gh the !arty$ according to its ha%it$ claims the invention &or itsel&$ atomic %om%s &irst appeared as early as the nineteen- &orties$ and were &irst #sed on a large scale a%o#t ten years later. (t that time some h#ndreds o& %om%s were dropped on ind#strial centres$ chie&ly in ,#ropean 9#ssia$ estern ,#rope$ and 'orth (merica. "he e&&ect was to convince the r#ling gro#ps o& all co#ntries that a &ew more atomic %om%s wo#ld mean the end o& organi6ed society$ and hence o& their own power. "herea&ter$ altho#gh no &ormal agreement was ever made or hinted at$ no more %om%s were dropped. (ll three powers merely contin#e to prod#ce atomic %om%s and store them #p against the decisive opport#nity which they all %elieve will come sooner or later. (nd meanwhile the art o& war has remained almost stationary &or thirty or &orty years. )elicopters are more #sed than they were &ormerly$ %om%ing planes have %een largely s#perseded %y sel&-propelled proectiles$ and the &ragile mova%le %attleship has given way to the almost #nsinka%le Floating Fortress7 %#t otherwise otherwise there has %een little development. "he tank$ the s#%marine$ the torpedo$ the machine g#n$ even the ri&le and the hand grenade are still in #se. (nd in spite o& the endless sla#ghters reported in the !ress and on the telescreens$ the desperate %attles o& earlier wars$ in which h#ndreds o& tho#sands or even millions o& men were o&ten killed in a &ew weeks$ have never %een repeated. 'one o& the three s#per-states ever attempts any mane#ver which involves the risk o& serio#s de&eat. hen any large operation is #ndertaken$ it is #s#ally a s#rprise attack against an ally. "he strategy that all three powers are &ollowing$ or pretend to themselves that they are &ollowing$ is the same. "he plan is$ %y a com%ination o& &ighting$ %argaining$ and well-timed strokes o& treachery$ to ac#ire a ring o& %ases completely encircling one or other o& the rival states$ and then to sign a pact o& &riendship with that rival and remain on peace&#l terms &or so many years as to l#ll s#spicion to sleep. 5#ring this time rockets loaded with atomic %om%s can %e assem%led at all the strategic spots7 &inally they will all
%e &ired sim#ltaneo#sly$ with e&&ects so devastating devastating as to make retaliation impossi%le. It will then %e time to sign a pact o& &riendship with the remaining world-power$ in preparation &or another attack. "his scheme$ it is hardly necessary to say$ is a mere daydream$ impossi%le o& reali6ation. *oreover$ no &ighting ever o cc#rs e0cept in the disp#ted areas ro#nd the ,#ator and the !ole: no invasion o& o & enemy territory is ever #ndertaken. "his e0plains the &act that in some places the &rontiers %etween the s#perstates are ar%itrary. ,#rasia$ &or e0ample$ co#ld easily con#er the ritish Isles$ which are geographically part o& ,#rope$ or on the other hand it wo#ld %e possi%le &or ceania to p#sh its &rontiers to the 9hine or even to the ist#la. #t this wo#ld violate the principle$ &ollowed on all sides tho#gh never &orm#lated$ o& c#lt#ral integrity. I& ceania were to con#er the areas that #sed once to %e known as France and
In past ages$ a war$ almost %y de&inition$ was something that sooner or later came to an end$ #s#ally in #nmistaka%le victory or de&eat. d e&eat. In the past$ also$ war was one o& the main instr#ments %y which h#man societies were kept in to#ch with physical reality. (ll r#lers in all ages have tried to impose a &alse view o& the world #pon #po n their &ollowers$ %#t they co#ld not a&&ord to enco#rage any ill#sion that tended to impair military e&&iciency. So long as de&eat meant the loss o& independence$ or some other res#lt generally held to %e #ndesira%le$ the preca#tions against de&eat had to %e serio#s. !hysical &acts co#ld not %e %e ignored. In philosophy$ or religion$ or ethics$ or politics$ two and two might make &ive$ %#t when one was designing a g#n or an aeroplane they had to make &o#r. Ine&&icient nations were always con#ered sooner or later$ and the str#ggle &or e&&iciency was inimical to ill#sions. *oreover$ to %e e&&icient it was necessary to %e a%le to learn &rom the past$ which meant having a &airly acc#rate idea o& what had happened in the past. 'ewspapers and history %ooks were$ o& co#rse$ always colo#red and %iased$ %#t &alsi&ication o& the kind that is practiced today wo#ld have %een impossi%le. ar was a s#re sa&eg#ard o& sanity$ and so &ar as the r#ling classes were concerned it was pro%a%ly the most important o& all sa&eg#ards. hile wars co#ld %e won or lost$ no r#ling class co#ld %e completely irresponsi%le. #t when war %ecomes literally contin#o#s$ it a lso ceases to %e dangero#s. hen war wa r is contin#o#s there is no s#ch thing as military necessity. "echnical progress can cease and the most palpa%le &acts can %e denied or disregarded. (s we have seen$ researches that co#ld %e called scienti&ic are still carried o#t &or the p#rposes o& war$ %#t they are essentially a kind o& daydreaming$ and their &ail#re to show res#lts is not important. ,&&iciency$ even military e&&iciency$ is no longer needed. 'othing is e&&icient in ceania e0cept the "ho#ght !olice. Since each o& the three s#per-states is #ncon#era%le$ each is in e&&ect a separate #niverse within which almost any perversion o& tho#ght can %e sa&ely practised. 9eality only e0erts its press#re thro#gh the needs o& everyday li&e -- the need to eat and drink$ to get ge t shelter and clothing$ to avoid swallowing poison o r stepping o#t o& top-storey windows$ and the like. etween li&e and death$ and %etween physical pleas#re and physical pain$ there is still a distinction$ %#t that is all. C#t o&& &rom contact with the o#ter world$ and with the past$ the citi6en o& ceania is like a man in interstellar space$ who has no way o& knowing which direction is #p and which is down. "he r#lers o& s#ch a state are a%sol#te$ as the !haraohs or the Caesars co#ld not %e. "hey are o%liged to prevent their &ollowers &rom starving to death in n#m%ers large large eno#gh to %e inconvenient$ and they are o%liged to remain at the same low level o& military techni#e as their rivals7 %#t once that minim#m is achieved$ they can twist reality into whatever shape they choose. "he war$ there&ore$ i& we #dge it %y the standards o& previo#s wars$ is merely an impost#re. It is like the %attles %etween certain r#minant animals whose horns are set at s#ch an angle that they are incapa%le o& h#rting one another. #t tho#gh it is #nreal it is not meaningless. It eats #p the s#rpl#s o& cons#ma%le co ns#ma%le goods$ and it helps to preserve the special mental atmosphere that a hierarchical society needs. ar$ it will %e seen$ is now a p#rely internal a&&air. In the past$ the r#ling gro#ps o& all co#ntries$ altho#gh altho#gh they might recogni6e their common interest and there&ore limit the d estr#ctiveness o& war$ did &ight against one another$ and the victor always pl#ndered the van#ished. In o#r own day they
are not &ighting against one another at all. "he war is waged %y each r#ling gro#p against its own s#%ects$ and the o%ect o& o & the war is not to make or o r prevent con#ests o& territory$ %#t to keep the str#ct#re o& society intact. "he very word 8war8$ there&ore$ has %ecome misleading. It wo#ld pro%a%ly %e acc#rate to say that %y %ecoming contin#o#s war has ceased to e0ist. "he pec#liar press#re that it e0erted on h#man %eings %etween the 'eolithic (ge and the early twentieth cent#ry has disappeared and %een replaced %y something #ite di&&erent. "he e&&ect wo#ld %e m#ch the same i& the three s#per-states$ instead o& &ighting one another$ sho#ld agree to live in perpet#al peace$ each inviolate within its own %o#ndaries. For in that case each wo#ld still %e a sel&-contained #niverse$ &reed &or ever &rom the so%ering in&l#ence o& e0ternal danger. ( peace that was tr#ly permanent wo#ld %e the same as a permanent war. "his -- altho#gh the vast maority o& !arty mem%ers #nderstand it only in a shallower sense -- is the inner meaning o& the !arty slogan: ar is !eace.
,mman#el
