The Book Club: 1984 by George Orwell with Dave Rubin | The Book Club 

I'm based in China. The education authority has recently removed 1984 (and Animal Farm) from public school libraries. Americans, treasure the liberties and freedom to think while you can.

I teach this book every year to my freshmen. They used to hate it, but now that it's happening right before their very eyes, they totally geek out over it.

“My novel Nineteen Eighty-Four is not intended as an attack on socialism, or on the British Labor party, but as a show-up of as to the perversions to which a centralized economy is liable and which have already been partly realized on communism and fascism.” -George Orwell

“Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic Socialism, as I understand it” -Orwell

*1984 was supposed to be a warning not an instructions manual.*

Anyone notice how the people saying Trump's presidency is like 1984 are the same ones wanting to do speech/thought policing.

"He loved Big Brother." Scariest line ever.

Whenever I feel down about being bad at English, I watch this and feel better, because it shows me that people who are even worse than me still enjoy positions of power

Don’t forget Orwell’ book, “Animal Farm” where the so- called victims become the oppressors.

The thumbnail is genius, Fahrenheit 451 setting fire to 1984.

“Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written directly or indirectly against totalitarianism and for democratic-socialism as I understand it.” -George Orwell

"Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" Isaiah 5:20

I've just finished the book and it should be retitled "2020." We are already moving into '1984speak" by changing the definition of racism, redefining "man" and "woman," eliminating words like "whitelist" and "blacklist." Unless there is a BIG pushback, America and Western civilization will become another Oceania.

Dave might’ve taken the time to read about Orwell’s life.

Came here for an actual discussion about the 1984 novel, what I got was the exact same thing these guys always talk about in every video they do(Trump/media/The Left)

You people didn't read George Orwell that well if this is the conclusion.

1984 is one of the most beautifully written tragic works of the last century. I don’t think any other book left me feeling so wretchedly grieved. How Orwell represents the crushing of the individual human spirit by a totalitarian regime, robbing him of both his freedom and dignity, is both moving and terrifying. This book is a warning we should all heed.

One of my favorite George Orwell quotes: "Some ideas are so absurd only an intellectual could believe them." Does that not perfectly describe "whiteness" and "white privilege" just to highlight a few of the lefts nonsensical beliefs.

speaking of 'every book has been rewritten', 1984 is not a criticism of socialism, but of authoritarianism, Orwell was an anarchist, not on your side

The monitors are not on our walls, we carry them around in our pockets. Everywhere we go, 24/7.

Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. History has stopped. Nothing exists but an endless present in which the party is always right. -George Orwell, 1984

"How did he do this in 1948..." Really Dave? The man fought on the side of the Socialists in the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s and saw his brothers-in-arms, the Spanish Communists, betray, arrest and murder his fellow Socialists. He then wrote, "The Road to Wigan Pier" where he concludes that "it's not that socialists love the poor so much as they just hate the rich"... So, of course, this makes sense. The USSR was in its youth and the world was being seduced - just as it is now. Every generation, it seems, has its weak-minded idiots.

"Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic Socialism, as I understand it." - Orwell

“I have seen British imperialism at work in Burma, and I have seen something of the effects of poverty and unemployment in Britain...One has got to be actively socialist, not merely sympathetic to socialism, or one plays into the hands of our always-active enemies.” -George Orwell

I lived through that horror under Mao. Escaped to America, only to find out that part of beautiful Americans have become Mao’s disciples ... I am disgusted... disheartened...

Years ago, when I read this book in grade school, it scared the hell out of me. Today, people are like 'whatever, man'.

I did read the book 50 years ago, and since Michael and David have already spoiled the ending, I can say that the part where they torture Winston with the rats in Room 101 and he screams, “No, no, do it to Julia, do it to Julia!” was the most horrifying piece of literature that I have ever read simply because it is so believable that the State, with infinite power to torture can make any of us betray those we love the most. Though I have many books in my personal library that I have read again and again, I have never had the courage to pick up “1984” for a re-read.

This video should be retitled: how to read a book and not understand any of it

I’m 22, currently reading the book and I feel so left behind, since I’ve seen people saying they’ve read 1984 in high school-I didn’t. I’m learning new words that I was suppose to learn at high school level😅

"1984" was meant to be cautionary, not instructional. 🙄

I clicked to see what the quality of literary analysis in conservative circles is like, and the answer is still very depressing.

It breaks my heart that Michael Brooks isn't around anymore to dunk on this.

Very appropriate to be talking about this book under the current state of affairs. Brings attention to an emerging problem in the world

This book always stuck out on the bookshelf during my school days...then around 11th grade my English teacher assigned it to us. He also said it was very relevant to the world we live in now...God bless him. That was before I got deeper into my political beliefs. I always knew I was right wing, but honestly it was this book that perfectly encapsulated the insanity I saw around me. It made me feel less alone.

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah said 2700 years ago "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter."

In Animal Farm, the sheep constantly chant "Four legs good. Two legs bad" whenever they want to silence any dissenting opinion.

I was taught in school that Orwell based his novel on Joseph Stalin's USSR. Stalin even had people removed from photographs when they fell out of favor. This is basically Winston's job at the beginning of the novel.

A joke from USSR: we'll fight for peace until no stone left unturned.

I quit my job on May 24th of this year after having spent four years working for that employer. The job was “good enough” for me, however I knew there would be a better fit for me elsewhere. I hadn't quit my job upon that initial realization because I hadn't reached a tipping point yet. At the beginning of this year COVID-19 impacted our world's industries and as a result furloughed my coworkers and I for about a month and a half starting late March. I had a rude awakening upon my return to work. I could only return to my position if I wore a mask over my face, had my temperature taken, and signed an affidavit that I was fit for duty. Additionally, I was required to record the first, last name, phone number and email address of my customers as I interacted with them. At first, I simply ignored the nuisances of some of these things, but soon ran into road blocks. A supervisor here or there might mention that I was out of compliance of these things, and simply reminded me and others that we were in a new routine with COVID-19. Within weeks of on-and-off compliance the subject finally came to a head. My direct supervisor would not let me start work unless he had taken my temperature one morning. We had a lengthy chat and I mentioned to him my belief that if I needed to jump through these hoops to work at a job that I rarely enjoyed anymore, that maybe I should just quit. I asked that same supervisor permission to leave for the day and do some soul searching; which he reluctantly granted, although the store needed the coverage. The next day I returned to work on time, but left my position about midday- for good. I am still unemployed two months later, and have spent so much time with my 10 year old son during this time of no school, that we've strengthened our already strong relationship and now have become best friends. I have worn a mask only once since I left my job in those two months. I've been politely told to leave two stores as a result of not wearing a mask, and with no fuss simply left saying “O.K.” In one of those occasions the employee that told me they “could not serve me without a mask” recanted her position later, in fact offering to me that if I wanted to come in I simply needed to say the word “medical” and she couldn't turn me away. I am not sure if this was store policy or if this was just an olive branch for next time. In both of these occasions they have occurred after governor Jay Inslee put out the mask mandate. I am gripped with fear every time I enter the grocery store or gas station, because I've seen the internet videos of maskless fools freaking out in public. Their faces become infamous online, their stories told across news networks, and their jobs fire them. I do not agree with the majority of these instances where maskless citizens start screaming in public, and I will not behave in that indignant way, but that does not mean others around me think I will not, and they may try their best to provoke those reactions from me. My fear is that one day I will be confronted by someone-an ordinary shopper; whom does not have the authority to kick me out of a store-who might try to shame me with no understanding of why I'm not wearing a mask. This person might pull out their camera phone and “make me famous” in a very bad way. All because what? They have to be around one person without a mask for a few seconds? Can society not grant these few and far-between exceptions? Does society really need 100% mask compliance in order to continue? You may be asking yourself now why I refuse to wear a mask, and as succinctly as I can describe: face coverings are being compelled onto us--rather than by voluntary compliance by means of education, and that simply, is worth protesting. So I'm protesting. I get it, an establishment has the right to refuse to serve me, and that is fine I will leave with no fuss, but ultimately I do not think most establishments want to remove patrons for not wearing a mask. It is my opinion that a lot of these business owners only post the mandated mask policies so that they themselves are not forced closed. So it may be better understood, I would like to break down the claim that masks are being compelled onto us rather than by voluntary compliance by means of education. Consider three people, all told by the governor to wear a mask and given information describing how it could impact those around them. Person one voluntarily places the mask on without hesitation, because they see the information and believe it will save lives. Person two does not wish to place the mask on yet, because they do not see how this information trumps the possible negatives of wearing such a mask, but they are afraid of the consequences of not wearing the mask, and they put it on anyway. Person three does not see how the information trumps the possible negatives of wearing such a mask, and they also understand that consequences could arise, however they still do not wear the mask. These three persons demonstrate the existence of choice, undoubtedly. However, and this is the most important part to understand: if person three is coerced by any consequences from the state as a result of not wearing said mask, then the state has removed choice from the whole table, and is compelling its citizen by forces. The dangers of this idea (irregardless of the subject here being a face mask) is broader, and worth protesting. To exemplify why the subject of face-coverings falls under this broader idea you can look closely at the trope: these masks are not worn to protect you, they are worn to protect others. This, firstly, is not entirely true, but more importantly it is wrong morally. I, as a citizen, have no obligation to make other citizen's safety my responsibility. Much less should I be compelled by my government, who's responsibility it is to keep its citizens safe, to do so. Now this also does not mean the government has full totalitarian rule in order to keep its citizens safe, as it would be simple: Just lock the citizens in a cage, with food and water, and put security all around them at all times so no harm could come of them; which is no way to live. A line has to be drawn where the government can compel is citizens for their safety, and I'm protesting at this line. I am not alone. Additionally, on this subject: The second trope is that wearing a mask is for my own safety, and to that I say no thank-you. I realize I could die from a number of any tragic, or un-tragic events, and I am not afraid of death, or any other trial in life, such as illness. It is my belief that I get to experience life, in all its glory and I wish not to be sheltered from the fringes. Now, you may say there are a slew of regulations that under these pretenses I should be protesting, like seat belt laws maybe? But you see, I'm not. I am protesting the face-coverings today, and maybe some day in the future I will find something else I feel strongly about, but this is it for now. The principle is what drives me.

Reminder that George Orwell was a socialist. The anarchist kind, not what you folks probably imagine a socialist to be

To answer the question at 23:30, George Orwell was able to craft such a portentous work of fiction because he was closely involved with the Leftists of his day. He himself was a Democratic Socialist, and prior to the writing of 1984, he was involved with socialist/communist intelligentsia circles. He had enough direct experience of his own as an "Outer Party" member that I suspect he simply asked himself, "What if the trends I am witnessing were to continue ad infinitum?" Thus, he was able to produce his own dark and familiar brand of Western Leftist Authoritarianism that we see in Big Brother. If you read The Road to Wigan Pier, which he published in 1937 for the aptly titled Left Book Club, we can see his opinions begin to shift away from the Leftist Overton window, despite maintaining a generally favorable opinion towards social welfare. In my opinion, Orwell realized through his direct involvement with the socialist circles of his day that Leftism is not guided by compassion for the less fortunate, but rather a hatred for the more fortunate. This realization produced 1984.

China: reads this book China after reading this book: wow nice guide to rule your country

How do you avoid becoming Winston? Just remember that the emperor is as naked as a jaybird. And keep reminding others of it, too.

“Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic Socialism” - George Orwell

"Peoplekind" (Justin Trudeau) And: I saw a woman driving a pickup truck, a cigarette dangling from her lips. I rejoiced.

My favorite quote from the book is this: ""[Winston] presented himself with propositions- '*The Party says the earth is flat*' 'The Party says that ice is heavier that water' and trained himself in not seeing or not understanding the arguments that contradicted them it was not easy. It needed great powers of reasoning and improvisation.... It needed also a sort of athleticism of mind, an ability at one moment to make the most delicate use of logic and at the next to be unconscious of the crudest logical errors. Stupidity was as necessary as intelligence, and as difficult to attain"

My high school literally took this out of the curriculum. So, at age 30 I have to go read it.

I’m my high school it was not required to read 1984. I discovered it when my teacher shared a list of books that were once banned... of course I had to read it.

"People sleep peaceful in their beds at night because rough men are willing to do violence on their behalf." George Orwell.

As a teacher I always thought "Oh no.....same old books. Nothing new?" But now I'm like "Why are they not studying these classics anymore?"

Orwell is often quoted very selectively by the 'right' and for good reason - Although there is much from works like 1984 and Animal Farm that can be held up as a mirror to the so called 'Radical Left', it is very important to note that Orwell was infact a left wing radical himself. He fought/worked along side the Communists in the Spanish civil war and even wrote about his wish to join the Anarchists. 'As far as my purely personal preferences went I would have liked to join the Anarchists. If one became a member of the CNT it was possible to enter the FAI militia, but I was told that the FAI were likelier to send me to Teruel than to Madrid. If I wanted to go to Madrid I must join the International Column, which meant getting a recommendation from a member of the Communist Party.' - Homage to Catalonia 1938 'I have no particular love for the idealized ‘worker’ as he appears in the bourgeois Communist’s mind, but when I see an actual flesh-and-blood worker in conflict with his natural enemy, the policeman, I do not have to ask myself which side I am on.' 'The Spanish war and other events in 1936-37 turned the scale and thereafter I knew where I stood. Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism, as I understand it.' - Why I write 1946 'We cannot win the war without introducing Socialism, nor establish Socialism without winning the war.' 'It should be noted that there is now no intelligentsia that is not in some sense 'Left' - Perhaps the last right wing intellectual was TE Lawrence' So be very wary of selective quotes from Orwell that are used to support specific political narratives - they may not be all that they seem.

Ad: dont have time to read books? We will read it for you and give u the important parts ourselves. Video content: 1984. I could not make this up if I tried.

The thumbnail is so cheeky :D

Please do a bookclub about C.S. Lewis "The Abolition of Man" ... 70 years ago and he hits the nail on the head.

When I saw a high school production of 1984 a while back, at the crescendo moment when Winston and Julia are caught, every actor and stagehand was downstage in the shadows speaking in unison as Big Brother, calling out the protagonists' "crimes". The idea that BB was the collective mob seems to be more true today, and I think that was a great reflection of it. Kinda hopefol I got that experience from a high school play...

Orwell was a socialist, also one of the greatest critics of socialism. He was a visionary.

I literally just finished 1984 today, if any of you haven’t listened to it yet, there are a couple audio versions on YT the one I listened to had no ads either. So relevant today!

“The system is very much against the individual” - Dave Rubin

Why not refer to Orwell's actual opinions? "If I had understood the situation a bit better I should probably have joined the Anarchists." George Orwell - Collected Essays; Vol 1 page 289

I’ve never read 1984 & I know nothing about George Orwell, but we studied Animal Farm in English class when I was about 14. I don’t remember much about it apart from there was a character called Boxer (I think) & the animals used to say “4 legs good, 2 legs bad”. Our teacher actually said that a few times as well when we’d be leaning back in our chairs!

My 1984 is filled with such things as the reelection of Reagan, the winning smiles of American Olympic Champions, the synth of Van Halen, the synth of Everything, the glory of Golan-Globus, the Hollywood that puts out more fun comedies, magical fantasies, and cheesier sci-fi, and the rainbows and unicorns that were designed for children and children only. I love my 1984.

I’m 25 years old. I run my own small business and have read a great deal of literature of all genres, fiction and non-fiction. The same can be said of TV shows and Movies. I asked my employees, who range from 16 to 29 if they knew of the book or movie ‘1984’ by George Orwell. “What’s that?” Said my 19yo employee as I stared at all 5 of their blank faces. This scares me more than anything else.

"Freedom is the freedom to say that 2+2=4. If that is granted, all else follows." -Winston Smith, 1984.

The first English teacher that had an impression on me was in the 8th grade in 1980. The first assignment was having all the students in her class read 1984 and I’m so glad she did. Great teachers are so rare. I can remember maybe 2 or 3 in all my school years. Great talk about the book and you can’t go wrong with Rubin in just about any conversation .

I’m surprised they didn’t mention the silver lining. The end of the novel contains a dictionary of newspeak words and how they’re used. However, all of the entries are referred to in the past tense (“was, had been”, etc.) and written in standard modern English; implying that the Party was eventually destroyed and the people possibly liberated. Always keep hope!

I'm literally reading it for the first time I started it about 2 days ago. Because I've been told its similar to today's sociopolitical climate. We are going to be overran. Unless some of the rich conservatives want to start spreading the word across the media and start being unafraid of voicing their "truths" we will never get ahead. We are drowning.

Why couldn’t Micheal Brooks live to see this?

Lmao imagine if the interviewer showed up to this without even reading the book 😂

Newspeak is a reference to ‘novoyaz’ - real process of forced simplification of Russian practiced by bolsheviks. Pretty much everything in 1984 really happened in some way in Soviet Russia.

“It’s My truth” - every progressive

I started reading this a few days ago! Always wanted to read it and it's certainly better than I had even expected!

I just finished reading 1984 and it was chilling to read. Literally, everything that Orwell wrote, is applicable for today. The ending especially was devastating for me.

I ordered this book and it came in the mail today, now I go on RU-vid and this is in my recommended

I read this in 2017 when everything started blowing up. I've been slowly understanding the book for the past 3 years and can finally say that I get it. Maybe, I am a slow learner, or the concepts in the book are so deeply profound that it reveals itself in objective reality itself over time. This is in my top ten classics.

"Oranges and lemons say the bells of St. Clemens..." I read this as a dreamlike echo of a time long gone, of church steeples in peaceful landscapes with bells ringing out their call to the people their musical call to prayer and contemplation.

"The people who can convince you of absurdities, can make you commit atrocities."

we read this book in literature class this spring 😁

I really like the chairs they are sitting on. 😂

Already just at the first quote and my thought was "Wow, the Trump administration and literally all RepubliCons, both the elected officials and the voters." Dave Rubin: Twitter. Dude needs to entertain some of those "big ideas" he keeps talking about.

To the people saying that “Prageru is stupid because Orwell was a Socialist” WE KNOW THAT! He was Socialist, BUT HE WAS STILL CORRECT! Remember that you can agree with some things a person says and disagree with other things they say, for example, I am a Republican. We want to Increase Fracking. I,Personally, Want to limit Fracking.

"Racist!" is also a word that no longer has meaning. Unless "someone on the Left disagree with me."

"Words are violence, but violence is not violence." Pretty much sums up progressive thought today.

I read this book around 10 or 15 years ago before the world went totally crazy, and since I never expected to read it again I got rid of it. I SO wish I would have kept it now. It's scary how relevant it is to what is happening today, almost as if George Orwell was knowingly predicting the future.

There was NO WAY OUT at the end of "1984" or "A Brave New World." The message was either give in or die. Hopefully, we can find a better solution in 2021.

One of my favorite books of all time, I read it when I was 12 years old and it changed my life and my outlook. It made me think critically of everything I am told. I suggest everyone read it.

It pains me so much that I won't get to hear Michael Brooks laugh hysterically at this insane video. RIP MB.

The scene where he gets arrested terrifies me every time... such a great book. Everyone should read this.

In reading 1984, the two things that terrified me the most were having no ability to know what's true, getting everything second hand and learning to love the party and system to the point where I honestly don't know if it's sad. I kind of wish they delved more into the metaphysics themes of the novel, but an interesting view of it

I hadn't thought about the analogy with Nazism, I've always thought it was an analogy with the Stalinist governement given that Animal Farm was essentially a critic of communism, but I guess it fits too. Btw I've been comparing what's happening in the US with 1984 for a while now (as an outsider though, since I don't live in the US) and I'm happy that this video came out. It's scary as hell how similar they're becoming.

1984 or “An Illustration of Successful Gaslighting on a National Scale.”

"Evil shall be deemed good, good shall be deemed evil; dark shall be seen as light, light darkness; bitter shall be put for sweet, sweet bitter". Orwell was ahead of 2020 by 71 years, Scripture was ahead of Orwell by thousands of years.

Fun conversation. I read 1984 in HS also - before both of these guys were born. I love the ad for this w/Michael trying to burn the book the author of "Don't Burn This Book" is holding! Genius.

"THERE... ARE... FOUR... LIGHTS!" - Jean Luc Picard / Star Trek: TNG

I waited until 9pm but found out it's for Tuesday 😭 Edit: And I'm gone Tuesday 😭 Edit: I actually got to watch it live yayyy

I think those who dismiss this analysis either only watched the first five minutes or misunderstood either Orwell, the analysis, or both. While Orwell was a "democratic socialist" as he puts it, this doesn't mean anything they said was wrong. He was mostly against authoritarianism, which can manifest on both the left and right (Nazi Germany was authoritarian and right, while Communist Russia and China were authoritarian and left). Debunking their discussion by just saying Orwell was socialist is an inadequate argument because it uses a singular term (in an Orwellian way) to completely discount what they say even though it really doesn't have much to do with anything. We can point to examples in both parties where they seem to follow the tendencies of 1984, it does seem like the modern conservative party under Donald Trump is less likely to devolve into the dystopia. Trump is taking our troops out of foreign wars and also trying to downplay the virus, optimistically saying we are beating the virus (many conservatives are more pro-war but oddly and unexpectedly Trump broke the trend for now) while Democrats and the mainstream leftist media are more supportive of lockdowns and masks and have constantly brought up the numbers of Americans who have died, at least partially for political reasons. Why does this matter? It shows that, in general, Trump is anti-war, including actual wars and the "war" on the virus (while he wants to fight the virus many say he has not done enough), at least compared to, first of all, old-age conservatives who mindlessly support foreign intervention for what seems like no reason, and also democrats (Obama bungled situations in the Middle East and kept us in the wars, despite his promises) who support the "war" on the virus, however noble that may be. One aspect of 1984 is that the party keeps the nation in perpetual war. I am not saying this is happening exactly but Trump certainly is not doing this, while the democrats support of authoritarian lockdowns for the good of the people almost a year after they told us "15 days of lockdown to slow the spread" seems suspicious to say the least. 1984 also is about the system vs. the individual: Big Brother trying to supress Winston and those like him. For all of Trump's many flaws, I think we can all admit that he is anti-system. One of his goals has been to "drain the swamp," and he has not only been against corrupt democratic politicians but also corrupt republican politicians. One could argue that, because Trump is all about "America first" policies, Trump is similar to Hitler and his nationalism. However, there is a huge difference. Trump is against big government. He deregulated the economy and wants individual states to decide on more issues like abortion. He is against mask mandates and national lockdowns because they are harming small businesses and they would go against freedom by forcing people to comply to possibly destroyed lifestyles. If you have read Animal Farm as well you would see the clear similarities between the what happened at the farm and the Communist Revolution in Russia (in fact it is basically exactly the same) so while Orwell may have been a socialist even he acknowledged the possible downfalls of a socialist system and was against Communism. Todays revolts by BLM and Antifa are actually quite complex, as they seem to go against Animal Farm's warning but also are supported by some ideas of freedom of expression and individualism that are in 1984. They are against the system but for a new system that is much more radical and dystopian than the one we currently live under. Another main subject of the book is about speech. This is where the right clearly has an advantage over the left. It is leftist organizations (big tech, which is basically also the deep state/ big government/ big brother at this point) who censor speech. Leftist "protesters" tear down statues of our history. Webster actually changed the definition of the term "sexual preference" to be derogatory after a democratic Senator said it was in the ACB confirmation hearings even though it really wasn't thought to be so before she said it. It is leftists who put all of their hatred onto Donald Trump like the 2 minutes of hate for Goldstein (I have never seen a conservative who truly hates any person, even a democrat, as much as many hate Trump). It is leftists who are constantly redefining gender and the language surrounding it (LGBTQ+, theybies, zer, ze, etc., were not terms a very short time ago). It is the left that labels everything they hate as racist or fascist, but also believes that racism against non- minority white men isn't racism but anti- racism. The right supports the first and second amendments which give power to the individual. If we the people couldn't bear arms the nation would be more prone to a government overstep of power. On the first amendment, the left only supports speech they agree with and want hate speech laws. They like the fact that big tech labels conservative opinions as misinformation or bans them all together. They are more likely to support the government's ability to stop churches from gathering (as seen recently with the virus). They think that because their opinion is correct (which it may or may not be) that any alternate opinion is racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. This is similar to the idea that everything the party says is correct, even that 2+2=5. It is leftists who cancel people and burn books (JK Rowling example). The argument against this being bad is that it can't be authoritarian because cancel culture comes from the people, not the government, however, first of all, this is mob rule which always devolves into tyranny as explained in parts of Plato's republic (another great book that touches on many of these topics), and second of all, what if cancel culture happens because of the media's control over thought and the mob is similar to the people in 1984 who cheered at the executions and went along with the 2 minutes of hate? What if, like in Plato's Republic, we are in a cave only seeing the shadows made by the media puppeteers? Regarding the video, even Knowles and Rubin admit that Orwell was mostly talking about the right and authoritarianism, however, at least under Trump, the modern left (which is much different than the left Orwell supported) is much closer to Orwell's prediction of a terrible future than the modern right, which under Trump has actually become more centrist in America as many moderate liberals are disenfranchised by the left's radicalization, and as Trump breaks many of the systemic norms even republicans have followed while still staying mostly conservative in his small government, pro-life, pro-constitution (a document meant to put checks and balances on the government and secure the freedom of the people) stances. Big tech, which overwhelmingly supports the democratic party, resembles big brother more than any other system in modern America.

“Always yell with the crowd, that’s what I say. It’s the only way to be safe.” - Julia

"How did he do it?" Stalinism + post WWII Britain + Orwell's genius.

y’all should read “Animal Farm”...”White Fragility” and the like are full of “some are more equal than others”

My 13 and 14-year-old daughters just finished reading this in our Political Conservatism homeschooling class! Thanks for this. 👍🏼

One of the, if not the most, eye-opening piece of literature ever written. Ever.