George Orwell’s novel 1984 is often regarded as one of the most important novels of the twentieth century. However, it was written in 1948, when Orwell himself was dying and full of disillusion with the state of the world. Although Hitler had been defeated, Stalin ruled over the Soviet Union and much of Eastern Europe. London was emerging from the Second World War, and there was still bomb damage and rationing. In a new century, readers might ask whether the novel has contemporary relevance.

The Novel

1984 is set in an imagined future, when Britain is part of Oceania. It is ruled by the Party and its mysterious leader, Big Brother, whose picture stares down on London. The city is a squalid place where everything is in short supply and there are occasional bombing raids. The story opens with Winston Smith, who is to some extent an everyman character, starting a diary. Although he is careful not to be observed by the telescreen in his room, he is committing a thought crime.

He works for the Ministry of Truth, carrying out instructions to change the official accounts of past events, so they conform to the new reality. When he has finished, previous records are destroyed. In the same way, people vanish, all records about them are deleted and they cease to exist. Although Oceania is permanently at war, the enemy changes without notice, from Eurasia to Eastasia, but the Party denies that Oceania was ever at war with Eurasia. Winston knows that, if the party controls the records, lies pass into history and become truth. To believe the new version, he needs to win a series of victories over his own memory.

In Newspeak, the impoverished form of English promoted by the Party, this is ‘double think’, defined as ‘the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously and accepting both of them.’ In accordance with doublethink, the Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation. Although the Proles are allowed relative freedom, they are too poor and ignorant to represent a threat to the Party.

Winston is suspicious of a woman called Julia but, when they meet, he falls in love with her. For a while, they share a fragile happiness. At the same time, he is contacted by a member of the Inner Party, O’Brien, who appears to be a secret rebel. However, the lovers are arrested and Winston is subjected to a brutal regime of torture, overseen by O’Brien. A strange relationship, which seems to be deeper than friendship, develops between Winston and O’Brien. The torture culminates in Room 101, where Winston encounters the worst thing in the world. In his case, this turns out to be rats. Although Winston is freed, he knows he will be killed when his mind is in line with the Party. He has reached that point at the end, when he thinks he loves Big Brother.

Did Orwell Intend his Novel as Prophecy?

George Orwell was deeply concerned about the state of society in his own tme and probably didn't intend his novel to be a prophecy about the future. Although Orwell has given his fictional Oceania telescreens which can broadcast and receive at the same time, in other ways the technology described is that of the 1940s. Winston Smith dictates his rewritten versions of speeches and articles down a ‘speakwrite’ and then drops the old versions down a tube to be destroyed. Today, he would be working on a computer, which might be connected to the internet.

However, it is salutory to examine our own time and ask whether it has similarites to 1984.  In the twenty-first century, Stalin is dead, the Soviet Union has split up and the former Eastern European nations have become independent. London has cast off its post war squalor and become a city of steel and glass. Western nations appear to be free and relatively safe but there are some troubling trends.

Surveillance

Now we have Close Circuit Television (CCTV), body worn videos, drones and vehicle tracking devices. In an article in 2015, The Guardian reported that the UK’s surveillance commissioner, Tony Porter, was worried about public complacency about surveillance. At that date, there were about 100,000 publicly operated CCTVs, out of about 6 million surveillance cameras in Britain. Although many people welcome cameras, in the belief that they discourage crime, this amount of surveillance raises questions about privacy and freedom. Tony Porter was particularly worried about body-worn cameras used by police, other security staff and even some supermarket workers. He said “If people are going round with surveillance equipment attached to them, there should be a genuinely good and compelling reason for that. It changes the nature of society and raises moral and ethical issues … about what sort of society we want to live in.”

Computer technology makes questions of privacy and surveillance much more complicated. Mobile phone records can be used to track a person’s movements, as can financial transactions by debit and credit card. Some of the new smart TVs are designed to collect information about the viewer. For example, an article in the New American reports on a new feature which Vizio has introduced with its internet connected TV. This feature is called 'Smart Interactivity'. It monitors user's viewing habits and reports back to the company, which can sell this information to advertisers. By capturing your IP address, and linking that to other connected devices such as smart phones, it can offer advertisers a comprehensive picture of you, that enables them to contact you on all your devices. This means that not only Big Brother is watching us, but a range of companies are too

It seems that the concept of privacy is increasingly meaningless in the internet connected age. Moreover, those who know our whereabouts and our interests do not necessarily have our interests at heart. For example, parents and teachers are worried that paedophiles could prey on young people who send messages and photos of themselves to people whom they meet on line.

Doublethink and Fake News

In theory, the rise of modern telecommunications and the internet should make it difficult for modern states to control the thoughts of their people. However, many illiberal countries censor the internet. An article in The Washington Post in 2016 stated ‘In a study detailing internet restrictions in 65 countries, Freedom House found that a third of Internet users worldwide face heavy internet censorship.’

Even in the west, governments attempt to shape the way their citizens think, not only through direct propaganda, but also by owning, or influencing the owners, of news media.In the USA, President Trump claimed the liberal media were issuing ‘fake news' and called them ‘the enemy of the American people.' Some media organisations, including the BBC, were banned from briefings. The President relied on support from more conservative news organisations such as Fox News and Brietbart News. This dispute poses two dangers. The first is of increased division between those listening to and reading liberal media and those following conservative outlets.The second is a loss of respect for the media generally.

Conclusion

1984 paints a grim picture of life controlled by the Party and Big Brother. We in western countries can reassure ourselves that we enjoy much more freedom and safety than poor Winston Smith. However, there are worrying trends in our societies, which include surveillance by both government and private organisations, and a danger that disputes about ‘fake news’ will undermine respect for free media. We should remember that ‘the price of freedom is eternal vigilance’.