Open AccessNineteen Eighty-Four: A Treatise on Tyranny
Author(s) -
Thomas H. Banks
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
political science undergraduate review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2562-1289
pISSN - 2562-1270
DOI - 10.29173/psur53
Subject(s) - antithesis , parallels , autocracy , liberalism , democracy , corporate governance , sociology , epistemology , law , aesthetics , political science , philosophy , politics , finance , mechanical engineering , engineering , economics
George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four portrayed the societal antithesis of modern liberalism, and in so doing, established the adjective "Orwellian" in popular use. Orwell's novel thematically represents conceptual frameworks of tyrannical governance. Recently, questions regarding a crisis of democratic liberalism have prompted debate, discussion, and study. This article investigates how Orwell characterises the processes by which totalitarianism develops, delineates the nature of autocratic governance, and describes how totalitarianism achieves continuity. Further, this article parallels the typologies of tyranny, developed in Nineteen Eighty-Four, with the modern world. I seek to detail the ways in which Orwell's novel is a cautionary, critical commentary of totalitarianism relevant to contemporary society.