The British writer and journalist George Orwell, in his novel “1984”, described the role of military conflicts in maintaining the power of the elites.
Orwell’s main ideas:
1. The essence of war is destruction.
War is not needed for victory or for freedom, but for the elimination of surplus resources and the products of labor.
“The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labor. War is a way of shattering to pieces what might otherwise make the masses too comfortable and, in the long run, too intelligent.”
2. War as a means of control.
Constant fear and the shortage of resources distract people from questions of power and prevent them from thinking about the injustice of the system.
3. War for the sake of war.
Orwell emphasized that war is not meant to be won — it is meant to continue endlessly, sustaining poverty and ignorance, without which hierarchical society cannot exist.
4. Artificial enemy and propaganda.
Before every conflict, an enemy is either found or created, and the masses are persuaded of the need to fight against it.
“Every war when it comes, or before it comes, is represented not as a war but as an act of self-defense against a homicidal maniac.”
5. The cost of military spending.
Enormous resources spent on armaments could otherwise be used to improve people’s lives — for food, medicine, and education. But instead, they are deliberately directed toward destruction.
#GeorgeOrwell #Orwell1984 #WarIsPeace #PoliticalControl #PowerAndWar #Propaganda #OrwellQuotes #CriticalThinking #WarAndPeace #SocialControl #Orwellian #AntiWar #FreedomAndControl #HumanRights #TruthAndLies
