Just read 1984... and I have a question to my fellow escapists...

[humor_involuntario]

Well, after I finished reading that book (1984) I am asking myself, Why is the world growing more and more like 1984?.
I admit, 1984 is an exageration of all the current social problems, but yet, an exageration is just the problem made more notable.
I now find along with my group of friends, and I see things that look as a parts of 1984, over all the 2+2=5 parts.
and with the goverment, well, survailance and attempts to control our mind are the most similar parts with 1984 (in NY I have seen 10 cameras i a single block, no joke)
So I would like to develop another question:
Could 1984 become reality?
Could it?

 

[CloggedDonkey]

Will it happen: Most likely not. Just seems like too many things would have to go perfect for too long.

Can it: In theory, yes. I doubt it will, but it could.

 

[NaturalCauses]

In a way, 1984 was a reality in some aspects. It's an eerie fusion of fascism (the war parades, and the constant wars in general) and Marxist communism (the rations of chocolate, the lack of personal items or greater wealth).

But I doubt the world could ever really be like it was in 1984, due to the idea that all of the nations of the world would ever unify into only three regions.

Then again, who knows if there ever was a war? We only know the world from Winston's eyes. Oceania could have been the only nation.

 

[Jacob.A.]

The entire answer to your question is that his guy, just by writing the book, had the first ever documentation prophetising the whole Big Brother aspect. Maybe he is to blame for it? No, its our societe for becoming less tolerent of things that happen in the world. The best example that I can give you is fire works. Oh yes, FIRE WORKS! Somehow because a couple of stupid kids who didn't have common sense and bleu off their fingers make it so every body has to suffer by not being able to use them in the town. There are many other things I could cover on that but in short (now), societe has become less tolerent of things and let it fall to the government to solve it, and maybe one of thoes officials read 1984 and got the idea or they already knew about big brother from just talking, but in short is it all due to tolerence.

 

[Blunderman]

It probably wouldn't happen like it does in the novel but there is a group of about a billion people on the planet who want the world under a totalitarian theocracy, Islam, that dictates your mind like how Christianity did in the Dark Ages (and still does in the US).

What's worth remembering is that every act of censorship, every right we lose, every surveillance camera, they're all one step closer to a Big Brother society. The curious thing about this is that it's our own fault. These things are solutions to problems that we cause. So by the end, we'll have demanded that 1984 be made a reality. Once it gets to much, we'll start protesting it and it'll revert through revolution. Then rinse and repeat until the very fundamentals of human society changes.

 

[Tsaba]

There will always be a desire by the government no matter the political side to know and control the masses. The guy who wrote 1984 was just 25-30 years off. Then again, people thought robots would do our cleaning for us in the "world of tomorrow!"

 

[Veylon]

There have been, and are, places like 1984. Theocracies where to question one's leaders is to lose one's soul. Dictatorships where your own family spies on you because if you step out of line, it's their necks. Mob Rule when even to hesitate to commit an atrocity makes you "one of them" and an instant victim.

There will always be parts of 1984 everywhere; people want things to believe in and there are those who will take advantage. Those who follow don't always question those who lead thoroughly enough.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

1984 was written as fantastical realization of the absolute extent of the worst aspects of socialism and facism, which were the big things on the rise during the time it was written.

I would consider North Korea to be the country closest to that state right now- all it's info is highly regulated so as to portray the outside world (everyone except them) as one far worse than the one they live in and keep the current dictator in power no matter the cost. In fact 1984 isn't too much different from how they portray the U.S. It could happen, but I guarantee it won't be happening in any major countries for many centuries, barring some act of God that requires draconian measures of resource conservation.

 

[Thedayrecker]

Will it happen: Most likely not. Just seems like too many things would have to go perfect for too long.

Can it: In theory, yes. I doubt it will, but it could.

I disagree. I think it definitly will happen. Will it happen anytime soon? Probably not.

But it will happen eventually.

 

[Alandoril]

It already has happened, it's just that Orwell was wrong about the particulars (understandable though given he lived in a world that still officially had "fascism" and "communism".)

The reality is in a way far more horrible, because it's much less honest.

 

[Mr Thin]

Yes. It can most certainly happen, though I am too ignorant of politics and current world events to speculate on precisely when or where it would happen.

But I found that was what's so horrible about it; that it felt so real, so... possible. And certainly individual aspects of it have already come to pass.

 

[Valkyrie101]

It could happen, but it's unlikely. Very unlikely. CCTV cameras in the streets do not equate to thought police. Also, our society is becoming softer and more lenient, where 1984... isn't.

 

[tomtom94]

Not in its entirety, but we will get little aspects.

CCTV cameras all over the place do not equal a complete invasion of privacy.
Constant patriotism does not equal thoughtcrime.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

Most people would tell you the western world will turn into the world described in 'Brave New World', but a 1984 society is possible. What I don't get is why haven't people made a novel where the two worlds meet? Where a world based off of Fear meets a World based off of addiction and fitting in?

 

[tigermilk]

1984 is only a mild exageration of society today in England (I couldn't comment on any other countries).

We are distracted by lotterys with ludicrously small odds and wars in foreign countries.

We don't have telescreens in our houses but most people have the internet which can monitor a lot of our actions. Of course there is also CCTV monitoring our actions.

History is told by winners. I imagine there are only a handful of people who can actually remember the First World War for example.

There is no real political choice.

Newspeak New Labour, the real death of 'ingsoc'.

The only major difference is that it is easier to keep people comftorable and oppressed as opposed to just poor, apart from the mythic "under class" who "deserve everything they get" and are paraded on Jermey Kyle (a bit like Jerry Springer) for 'two minutes hate'.

The scariest thing about 1984 is that the only thing stopping it being a complete reality is that it is easy to keep the West in relative comfort and docility.

 

[Jonluw]

It could, potentially, yes.

However, I think you're just noticing these problems more now because you've just read that book.

 

[Arrogancy]

Like with most people, yes, the world becoming 1984 could happen. Will it though? Probably not. While modern society shares some similarities with the book (newspeak, surveilience, etc.) these are very low reflections of the content of the society in 1984. Everythiung would have to go perfectly for even one nation to establish a 1984-esque society. It's simply too improbable.

 

[Nolanp01]

It is extremely unlikely it would ever happen. However what's important is to notice the concept of good and evil. This book is the ultimate 'evil' of mans downfall, it's complete lack of moral judgment and destructive tendencies towards one another.

From that though, we can look at our society and view it as the ultimate medium and .. well whatever you view as the ultimate good -this can be religion or personal feelings, your choice- can make the whole book work as a compass for the correct aspect of government.

Oh and for the record, regardless of its meaningful ending, it was crap. I like decent endings.

 

[Pseudonym2]

It's possible to do things similar to 1984 but a lot of things are impossible.

1 Speaking as a linguist, Newspeak is bullshit. It's human nature to crate new words for individual experiences. For instance the word "tubular" describes and ideal wave which is why surfers use the word to mean "very good" or "plusgood." Reducing and unifying human expression is antithetical to human nature.

2 It relies on shifting sexual energy to the state. Freud thought this is possible. He was wrong. Humans will always be horny and choosing between the state or getting laid ends in a predictable result.

3 Eventually they're going to run out resources or just have enough incompetent inner party members. Look at what happened to the kings before the French revolution.

4 A bunch of malicious power hungry people cannot share power for long. Look at every super villain team up or at Soviet Russia.

5 The inner party will too good at Double think. As one neoconservative philosopher worded it "There is one truth for the rulers, one for the governors, and one for the public." (I can't remember the exact name or quote.) The problem is that when the leaders start believing the public truth, like this we get Glen Beck, Sarah Palin, Christine O'Donnell, ect.

Obviously many of tricks in the book work. Just ask Karl Rove.