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Flashcard set on Goldstein's book from Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.
What is “oligarchical collectivism"“?
social structure of Oceania after the Revolution
small group of wealthy and powerful individuals
own land and resources
administer equal portions to the people
keeps the wealthy in power while maintaining an illusion of equality
How has war changed since the early decades of the twentieth century?
early decades of the 20th century: war between Eurasia and Oceania
decade later: Eastasia evolved as another war country
war is no longer a “desperate struggle” as it was in the early 20th century
now a warfare of enemies who:
are unable to destroy one another
have no reason for fighting
are not divided by any ideological differences
war hysteria (extreme punishments and slaughters of the enemy) is seen as normal and even rewarded if committed by one’s own side
motives for war are
dominant
consistently recognized
acted upon
Goldstein says that it is a “warfare of limited aims”. What are those aims?
opposing forces:
cannot annihilate each other
possess no tangible reason for conflict
not genuinely divided by ideological differences
Party has two primary objectives:
conquer entire surface of Earth
eradicate any potential for independent thought
Party’s pursuit of power not driven by specific purpose, just insatiable desire for dominance
two kinds of power: external (conquering others) and internal (controlling feelings and beliefs)
ultimate goal: complete control over both kinds
Previously, wars were waged for territory and resources. Why is that no longer necessary?
no longer, materially, anything to fight about
self-contained economies
no scramble for markets
production and consumption are geared towards one another
superstates are vast
almost everything they need can be accessed from within its borders
real purpose of war: (cheap) labor power
In what areas of the world are wars concentrated? Why?
disputed territories
inhabitants: bottomless source of cheap labor
openly reduce people to slaves
distributed from conqueror to conqueror
greatly expended
conquer more territory
control more labor power
produce more weapons
How has the vision of the future, as the people of the early 20th century saw it, been overturned?
20th-century vision:
masses did not want for anything
society functioned efficiently
people could live leisurely
continuation of rapid scientific and technological development
priority is maintenance of hierarchal structure
resources allocated to constant warfare instead of scientific progress
keep lower society uneducated, easily manipulated
led to population that lived mostly in poverty, subject to every whim of Party members in charge
Why is scientific and technological progress stunted?
impoverishment from long series of wars and revolutions
could not survive in strictly regimented society
partly because scientific and technical progress depended on the empirical habit of thought
use of outside knowledge and the questioning of ideas is necessary
How is the hierarchical society of Oceania different from previous hierarchies?
Ingsoc hierarchy:
Inner Party at the top
have a monopoly over history and facts
control the media that the uneducated public consume
control the Outer Party that lies below them in the hierarchy
micromanaged free thinkers (perform the minor tasks of the Party that the Inner Party wouldn’t bother themselves with)
ignorant masses are at the bottom (day workers in factories and in the military)
hierarchy of capitalism 1920-1940
at the top are the politicians
in writing have similar jobs to the members of the Inner Party
they serve their voters (elected to power)
businessmen
control the market
have to keep prices affordable to remain competitive in market
still helped the common people of their country
workers (work in factories or farms to provide the physical capital)
comparison
Ingsoc: hierarchy only benefits the top, with the bottom providing these benefits
capitalism: all members receiving benefits, albeit in unequal amounts
What is the ideal profile of a Party member?
strict, abiding, and fearless personality
can be portrayed and seen in situations of any intensity or level
key: strength in purity and passion
brings out what a true Party member is expected and assumed to retain in order to be a loyal contributor
providing and presenting to the highest allows respect and faith to seep in
gives the sense of loyalty the Party desires in its people
overall:
one must suit the needs of the Party
no second thought or contradicting notion to morals or ulterior motives
subjugation to the rules is necessary to the highest degree regardless of how the government is operated
showing no emotion and showing strength in these situations is what it means to be ideal
What are the two aims of the Party?
conquer the whole surface of the earth
extinguish the possibility of independent thought
having absolute control means eliminating any doubt by using doublethink
every action carefully cultivated to give Party the most control they can obtain over the people
corrupting science, books, technological practices
powers are limited; strive for:
complete and total control over the mind
ability to wipe several hundred million people quickly
Why is contact with foreigners extremely limited?
so citizens don’t discover that foreigners live similar lives as they do
so they don’t discover that everything that the Party said about foreigners were lies
How are the three remaining superpowers alike?
constantly at war with one another
utilize war to control their populations
oppressive
have semi-divine figures that they worship (e.g. Big Brother)
follow strict orthodox policies
Oceania: Ingsoc
Eurasia: Neo-Bolshevism
Eastasia: Chinese; Death-worship or Obliteration of the Self
similar social hierarchies
extremely isolated
unconquerable
How does Goldstein explain the paradox that “War is Peace”?
the three superstates are not able to destroy each other through war
all fighting in Oceania’s wars are on frontlines so most citizens do not see the fighting
war is used as an excuse to use up goods
otherwise would have made the Proles and Outer Party members comfortable and able to rebel
enables them to prevent rebellions by destroying all excess materials
object of war: keep the social hierarchy intact, bringing stability to society
Goldstein divides societies into High, Middle, and Low. What is the aim of the High?
remain in power
sooner or later there always comes a moment when they lose
belief in themselves
capacity to govern efficiently
both
Goldstein divides societies into High, Middle, and Low. What is the aim of the Middle?
switch places with the High
High are overthrown by Middle, who enlist the Low by pretending to fight for liberty and justice
when the Middle become High, they thrust the Low back down
Goldstein divides societies into High, Middle, and Low. What is the aim of the Low?
create a society with equality for everyone
often too much crushed by drudgery to be more than intermittently conscious of anything outside their daily lives
According to Goldstein, have the revolutions of the past brought greater equality? Why not?
revolutions of the past have not brought greater equality
often been followed by large periods of recession
true equality can only be achieved through a global revolution that overthrows all forms of oppression
the revolutions of the past have created a cycle which temporarily brings greater equality for the middle groups but inevitably ends up with a new group in power and others being still repressed
High, Middle, and Low
Middle overthrows the High in search of greater power and freedom
High group then becomes part of the Low and the Middle group becomes the High
Low never gain anything and are always oppressed
humans are materially and physically better off than they were before but equality only runs in a cycle of power and oppression
How do the members of the Inner Party remain in power? What is the role of surveillance?
combination of:
surveillance
thought control
propaganda
elimination of opposition
establishment of hierarchal social structure
constant surveillance: effective way of maintaining control over the population
end of private life
all other channels of communication closed
Is Big Brother real? Does it matter? Why or why not?
no, likely not real
does not matter
idea of presence and dominance is enough to control the totalitarian society
just the idea of him watching and being in control
Is Party membership hereditary? Does it matter? Why or why not?
Party membership is theoretically not hereditary
admission to either branch of Party through examination (16 years old)
no racial discrimination
no marked domination of one province over another
Oceania’s rules held together by adherence to common doctrine, not blood ties
not centralized
only common elements: English is lingua franca, Newspeak is official language
society is rigidly stratified on what appear to be hereditary lines
certain amount of interchange
weaklings are excluded from Inner Party
ambitious members in Outer Party made harmless by being allowed to rise
in practice: proletarians not allowed to graduate into the Party
if gifted: eliminated by Thought Police
What is crimestop?
Newspeak; a person simply stops by instinct when they think of doing something dangerous
includes:
not understanding language like analogies
not being able to perceive logical errors
misunderstanding simple arguments
refers to “protective stupidity”
part of how the Party uses ignorance and doublethink against the people to help control them
What is blackwhite?
Newspeak; two contradictory meanings
opponent: habit of absent-mindedly claiming that black is white despite evidence to the contrary
Party member: loyal willingness to say that black is white when the Party says so
believing and knowing this is true; forgetting that you ever thought otherwise
principles: doublethink, mutability of the past
What is the relationship between doublethink and the mutability of the past?
doublethink: having two contradictory thoughts while believing both to be true
mutability of the past: changing records to align with the present
goal of mutability of the past:
ensure all records agree with orthodoxy
rearrange memories and tamper with media
forget that one has tampered with evidence (doublethink)
With what question is Winston left as he falls asleep?
“He understood how; he did not understand why” (217)
book confirmed Winston’s personal opinions
justified his resistance to the Party
failed to introduce any new information
satisfied him but left him curious to understand the Brotherhood and Goldstein’s actions
“how” and “why” italicized: thought-provoking words portraying curiosity; demonstrate desire to learn more
Interpret Winston’s “profound wisdom” asserting that “[s]anity is not statistical”.
near-complete control that the Party has over the population
Party’s ideals are not sane (rapid switch of enemy/ally)
population still followed the Party
Winston is right, but everyone else thinks he is crazy
doesn’t matter how many people think you’re wrong if you’re actually right
How is the society portrayed in 1984 different from contemporary totalitarian societies, such as North Korea’s? How is it similar?
differences
1984 is totalitarianism to an extreme
North Korea: extreme, puts many limits on citizens
Oceania: even more manipulative (telescreens)
strict, highly dystopian (thoughtcrime, Thought Police)
similarities
place intense regulations on people
prohibit many “normal” things
limiting media, products, freedom
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Flashcard (175)