Posted by Milena on August 14, 2002 at 12:52:22:
In Reply to: Re: 1984- social issues in need of reform posted by Tim Cratchit on August 11, 2002 at 23:34:52:
Calling Smith "selfish" is correct, but this can be said to be moralism, id est the works of Ayn Rand, but more importantly of Albert Camus or Sartre. In 1984, Smith begins only by venting a discontent with the system that has been built up for years. Later, whn it becomes active, such as his joining the "Brotherhood," he becomes a "complete man," fighting for his own personal emancipation. However, much of this is indeed speculative as Orwell never completely did disclose his motives for the work.
As to the communism, it was in its way strange that communism evolved seperately from eachother movements, though most of it could be because the International was slightly disregarded by Stalin, by his denouncing what was called "Trotskyism." marx predicted a world-wide revolution, and Russia took the same view as the Americans, namely acting as patriarchs to other peoples revolutions to make the country not an independant communist country, but a puppet state. With Kambodia (or Kampuchea,) the revolution was one of many based on anti-Soviet, anti-Yankee feelings (realize the US was bombing Kampuchea since 1969 before the Khmer Rouge took over in 1975). of course, though, most were all dictatorships in the end.
(Perhaps you may want to read Milovan Djilas and Hannah Arnedt, who have some insights into the communism- dictatorship arguement. Some works by Leon Trotsky and more significantly Lenin describe this, though most communist never actually thought of how government should be handled, and Marx never said how to at that, so dictatorship seemed the likely choice only to assure the continuation, as triumvirates and "democracy" [esp. the modern western type] usu fall short on it.)