10 terrifyingly current George Orwell claims

Some of Orwell's quotes, now even more than half a century old, show a profound understanding of the future. Here are the most famous.

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

British journalist and essayist, writer and columnist, George Orwell (aka Eric Arthur Blair) is responsible for much of the anti-totalitarian vein of mid-twentieth century literature and many "premonitions" in his reflection on power.

His name is linked to works of great depth such as "The Animal Farm" (1945), which translates into a biting satire on the Bolshevik revolution and its authoritarian degenerations ("all animals are equal, but some are more equal of the others "), and 1984 (written in 1948 and published in 1949), in which he denounces technocratic totalitarianism (" Big brother is whatching you "-" Big brother is watching you ").

George Orwell is undoubtedly one of the greatest social critics of the modern era.

Some of his quotes, now dated even more than half a century, show a profound understanding of the future, which only an enlightened mind could have.

Here are those choices for you:

1. “In our time there is no possibility of staying out of politics. All issues are political issues and politics, in itself, is a mass of lies, evasions, madness, hatred and schizophrenia "

Many try to bury their heads in the sand when it comes to political issues, but they will never be able to isolate themselves from reality. Even if someone manages to avoid politics, at some point the effects of the political decisions he tried to avoid will knock on his door and affect him completely.

It is true that politics is "the science that deals with the government and organization of human societies, particularly states", but - and Orwell affirms it - it is also any act in which man organizes his daily activity. In essence, politics is born when man regulates his social, ideological and working activity. Aristotle he wasn't all wrong when he said that man is a political animal by nature.

2. "All the war propaganda, all the screams, lies and hatred invariably come from people who don't fight"

We can see this every day in the news, where political leaders or expert analysts constantly appear asking practically the need to get the blood flowing in the streets of a city or region with an unpronounceable name.

Always in the form of a kind of "selective and humanitarian" bombing, in the form of a "legitimate" struggle against the "different" in the name of democracy, peace, security or international law or in defense of homelands, beliefs or ideologies. And while the bullets fly, the propagandaists continue to slip into their comfortable suits, talking quietly in front of the cameras, away from the battlefield they themselves have generated…

How true is this thing here today?

3. "War against a foreign country only occurs when the wealthy classes think they will benefit from it"

This is a difficult idea for many people to accept. But we just need to see who benefited from the recent wars to understand that this is the real reality behind most of today's conflicts.

4. “The very concept of objective truth is disappearing from our world. The lies will go down in history "

What does it mean? That history is always written by the victor or the one in power and that he is never asked if he is telling the truth.

5. "In a moment of deception, telling the truth is a revolutionary act"

It is becoming clearer: the revolutions of the future will not be fought with bullets and explosives, but with small bits of data that travel across networks around the world destroying the false narratives with which governments deceive their citizens. An example above all? Assange.

10 terrifyingly current George Orwell claims

6. "Journalism says things that someone doesn't want you to say: everything else is public relations"

If an article doesn't bother someone, it's not authentic journalism. Most of what is currently considered "news" is little more than an official announcement of a product, service or belief.

Genuine journalism is about revealing the truth. And the truth always annoys someone ...

7. "In real life it is always the anvil that breaks the hammer"

In all conflicts, as we can now see all over the world, the winning side is not the one that can inflict the greatest damage, but the one that is able to bear the greatest damage, that is, the one that resists.

History is full of situations where powerful military forces "won the battles but lost the war".

8. "The nationalist not only does not disapprove of the atrocities committed on his own side, but he also has a remarkable ability not to have even heard of them"

And perhaps it is the case of all the times we have heard (and even mentioned) the phrase "Je suis ...", said without knowing anything about the story.

9. "Threats to freedom of expression, writing and action, even if they often seem trivial when we see them in isolation, are cumulative in their effects and always lead to a widespread lack of respect for the rights of citizens"

Every day there is a new form of censorship or a new method of forcing people to self-censor and people do not react, as every time a new method of repression appears, it only applies to a small minority.

By the time people realize that their freedom of expression and their ability to disagree has been completely limited, it is already too late.

10. "If you want to see an image of the future, imagine a boot that crushes a human face forever"

Once people are indoctrinated with nationalist beliefs and once the necessary infrastructure is created to protect them as a kind of constantly changing "enemy" of name and form, there is no longer any chance for people to regain their freedom. .

By the time all these pieces are in place, any chance of regaining freedom is lost and not only that, but people's willingness to achieve that freedom also vanishes.