Posted by Mike on August 12, 2002 at 21:44:56:
In Reply to: Re: 1984- social issues in need of reform posted by Tim Cratchit on August 11, 2002 at 23:36:20:
Winton's political/moral evolution mimics that of many people - from the personal to the universal. The concern for *his* rights is extended to those of others: what could be termed "selfishness" may be better described as self-awareness. His concern for his own needs was the basis of a more developed empathy for others.
After all the Party wanted to destroy the Enlightenment's view of individual (with the implicit rights conferred upon them) as can be found embedded in the US Constitution "All men are created equal".
Orwell uses this phrase in 1984 as an example of how the Party seeks to use Newspeak to break down this basic concept of equality ... In Newspeak the only possible translation of that sentence would be "thought crime". All the totalitarian regimes of the 20C explicitly tried to destroy this concept. Form Hitler to Stalin and the current regimes in N.Korea the concept of the "individual" was/is described as "bourgeoisie" or "reactionary".
This can also be seen in Animal Farm: "Some animals are more equal than others". To Orwell, this seems to be the ultimate perversion of not only language but of the rights of individuals.