To Orwell Today,
Jackie,
I just finished watching a lecture and Q & A by Christopher Hitchens and I think I heard him say that Orwell's "utopia" was some form of British socialism. This guy really seems to know his stuff but I, as a libertarian (or a possible anarchist) have trouble reconciling Orwell's disdain for the state with an alleged solution of socialism. I mean socialism can't exist without authoritarianism, right? Can you please set me straight.
Thank you,
Steve Ryan
Greetings Steve,
In the articles LEFT, RIGHT AND SOCIALISM and ORWELL'S DEMOCRATIC SOCIALSIM I try to explain what "socialism" means, and what I understand to be Orwell's meaning of it. There you will also find links to several other articles on the same subject.
Christopher Hitchens is a darling of the mainstream media (read Ministry of Truth (Lies)) and frequents the university and documentary circuit (similar to Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore) influencing young minds and pretending to be "anti-establishment" when in fact he's part of the establishment - both the left and the right - and does not by any stretch of the imagination accurately portray Orwell, even though he promotes himself as his modern-day equivalent. How outrageous!
In my opinion, the closest the Western World ever had to a true democratic socialist government was that of President Kennedy - who was despised by the "left" (communists) and the "right" (capitalists) but loved by the "middle" (socialists). To see what Hitchens wrote about him on the 40th anniversary of his assassination go to JFK POISON PEN KILLERS.
All the best,
Jackie Jura
To Orwell Today,
Thank you. I have printed the recommended articles on socialism and will read them over dinner. I always thought I knew exactly what socialism was, and so I never read them, but clearly I don't, so now I will.
-Steve
Jackie Jura
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