When I said "read Orwell" I meant "Politics and the English Language" and "What is Fascism?" intellectualtakeout.org/2015/12/geor... www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-f... - ThreadSky

radiofreetom.bsky.social • 2 days ago

When I said "read Orwell" I meant "Politics and the English Language" and "What is Fascism?"

https://intellectualtakeout.org/2015/12/george-orwell-what-is-fascism/

https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/politics-and-the-english-language/

Comments

sonsofliberty.vote•2 days ago

Perhaps some people may find Umberto Eco to be more accessible.

williamchatnoir.bsky.social•2 days ago

Had to read this senior year in (public, blue collar Mass.) high school English class. Been recommending it to friends in the 40 yrs since.

Also, On Self Respect by Joan Didion.

Thank you, Mrs. Matthews! And sorry I was such a cocky jackass.

benjaminthomas.bsky.social•2 days ago

The tech bros have read Orwell. They just receive it as an instruction manual.

auldtwa.bsky.social•2 days ago

Everyone thinks 1984 is just about Big Brother. It is WAY more about manipulation of language. Winston Smith's JOB is to rewrite history.

i-feel-augggghhh.bsky.social•2 days ago

I am not, indeed, sure whether it is not true to say that neither this essay nor this post is not a complete evolution of indescribable platitudes for the inevitable decline of society and our fine language in context of meaningless political drivel that does not last 300 characters including spaces

dbc105.bsky.social•2 days ago

We are seeing Fascism 1st hand.

iamcurious.bsky.social•2 days ago

To be fair, there is A LOT of disagreement about how to define fascism, even among scholars of authoritarianism and fascism.

radiofreetom.bsky.social•2 days ago

That is only part of Orwell's point.

iamcurious.bsky.social•2 days ago

It's a skeet, Tom, sorry I couldn't fit an entire thinkpiece here.

radiofreetom.bsky.social•2 days ago

Fair enough, but the end of Orwell’s article is about his worry that it becomes just a generic swear

iamcurious.bsky.social•2 days ago

People can easily be imprecise with a political term that no one can exactly agree on how to define.

But given the Republican Party's post Goldwater turn towards "national greatness" and undoing civil rights for minorities, calling them "fascists" isn't quite crudely employing a generic swear.

sammysmoot1212.bsky.social•2 days ago

Tom was fine with all of it until very recently.

markstacky.bsky.social•2 days ago

"Stuart Chase and others have come near to claiming that all abstract words are meaningless, and have used this as a pretext for advocating a kind of political quietism. Since you don’t know what Fascism is, how can you struggle against Fascism?

markstacky.bsky.social•2 days ago

One need not swallow such absurdities as this, but one ought to recognize that the present political chaos is connected with the decay of language,"

--George Orwell, Politics and the English Language

That seems to be more "Stuart Chase and others" worry from reading it.

taylorgrayson.bsky.social•2 days ago

Also hard to define pornography....

tinabeee.bsky.social•2 days ago

Tom, the eternal optimist, believes the populace knows Orwell as more than a one hit wonder. Can any of them name two songs by Boston?

sonsofliberty.vote•2 days ago

"Kashmir" and "Immigrant Song"

navotthegoat.bsky.social•2 days ago

Skill issue.

dancingastronaut.bsky.social•2 days ago

Should be required reading in high school.

emeritaprof.bsky.social•2 days ago

I agree, but I also think Animal Farm gets the point across rather well.

silverstoic.bsky.social•2 days ago

Thanks Tom

jtq3.bsky.social•1 day ago

In writing that could be used in legal proceedings there is one rule Mr. Orwell would hate.

“Remain sufficiently vague.”

jtq3.bsky.social•1 day ago

Just what I needed, another swipe at how poorly I write.

Well, actually it is just what I needed but I am loathe to admit it.

Well, actually I suppose I just admitted it and through these statements have proven it true.

Now I must more carefully read the treatise. I’m foiled at every turn.

seabeegator46.bsky.social•2 days ago

Tom.
It’s 5 o’clock.
Have a drink.
Have 2.

salvadordalillama.bsky.social•2 days ago

what is old is new again! fortunately, america's great strength is that it doesn't believe in history. and its great weakness is, ... oh well

salvadordalillama.bsky.social•2 days ago

also: https://twain.lib.virginia.edu/projects/rissetto/offense.html

david-stone.bsky.social•2 days ago

This is off topic, but during a spin through Candide last night, I got the impression George Orwell must have been heavily influenced by it, though that could have been the bourbon speaking.

wadeneal.bsky.social•2 days ago

Thanks for being inspired by me! Hehe

wadeneal.bsky.social•2 days ago

I don’t think people realize how meaningless a lot of our chatter is. This essay should be mandatory

welshrarebit.bsky.social•2 days ago

And when they’ve read that they should read Thucydides 3.82 about the degeneration of language in conditions of civil war.

billypilgrim26.bsky.social•2 days ago

You're retired, YOU CAN'T GIVE ME ANYMORE HOMEWORK 😢

marshalltouchton.bsky.social•2 days ago

Deborah Stone's "Policy Paradox" is another really primer on Language in Politics.

ajhinks.bsky.social•2 days ago

And 1984!

knightley162.bsky.social•2 days ago

“In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defence of the indefensible.“ 💯

gerryg234.bsky.social•2 days ago

Thanks for posting these articles. They clarify a vague feeling I've had about language and politics. I will definitely use the 6 rules to review my own letter writing.

saulpanzer.bsky.social•2 days ago

A+ skeet; offers the very real possibility of changing some lives.

andrewharbison1.bsky.social•2 days ago

Absolutely critical recommendations, without doubt.

As an Irishman, however, I strongly suggest Americans should also pay attention to this Orwell essay👇. It describes a skill that has apparently been forgotten in the US. A precursor to the death of US liberalism.

https://honesttea.com.au/uploads/1/3/1/5/13153661/george_orwell.pdf

themetabaron.bsky.social•2 days ago

Ambiguity in instruction leads to a lack of knowledge

mktsutherland.bsky.social•2 days ago

Thank you for the clarification

dabugfix.bsky.social•2 days ago

This one too:

jamesstaal.bsky.social•2 days ago

I’m listening to the audiobook “The Prince.” Machiavelli had a Boston accent.

radiofreetom.bsky.social•2 days ago

That fahkin' guy

andrewharbison1.bsky.social•2 days ago

If you can find it, Penguin did a version read by Fritz Weaver. He was a very fine actor, who tended to play clever, sophisticated villains. He was an excellent choice. He made some parts (eg about deciding whether to murder just your opponent or their entire family as well) sound almost reasonable.

bscranton.bsky.social•2 days ago

But Animal Farm is so much more entertaining. ...

allengarvin.bsky.social•2 days ago

Much better than his essay on tea, which completely snubs Chinese and Taiwanese tea.

irishwriterme.bsky.social•2 days ago

Both great pieces. I taught grade 8 English for almost twenty years & every year I would emphasize the need for precision in writing, as well as speaking. I told them that, when they wrote in vagaries, my first thought was they weren’t clear in their thinking & they were trying to hide that fact.

nerdygrrl.bsky.social•2 days ago

Words have meanings.

taylorgrayson.bsky.social•2 days ago

Fascism is burning Teslas, say Trump supporters.

seabeegator46.bsky.social•2 days ago

Terrorism.
They say it’s terrorism.

hombrelibre.bsky.social•2 days ago

And Homage to Catalonia and The Road to Wigan Pier.

greyseermatt.bsky.social•2 days ago

Along with 90% of my friends in college (most of us ROTC) I was a Pol Sci major. We were taught the origins of Fascism (among other things). My best friend called Wednesday and made the comment a lot of folks just seem to apply the label to anyone in power they feel is cruel / a dick .