George Orwell wrote one of my favourite novels of all time Animal Farm and also one of the most remarkables novels of all time 1984.
The concept of creating a perfect society, an utopia is a recurrent topic in both novels.
First Animal Farm takes the idea of animal rebelling against the farmer, and creating his own system of rules.
Sadly their initial seven commandments change while they try to face the new order, making some animals more equals than others and repeating the story only with different leaders.
On the other hand 1984 is about a society that is under the control of the Party, an authoritarian government that can see what every citizen is doing and controls what they must think and believe.
Winston lives under the control of the Party and hates it. He writes in his diary what he truly thinks which is a crime a later on he has a relationship with a girl called Julia, and no surprises relationships are also prohibit. Eventually he wants that everybody feels what is like not being under the control of the Party, so he tries to join forces with O’ Brien. But O’Brien is part of the Party and not part of the Brotherhood as he claims and he takes Winston and Julia to torture them and brainwash them.
O'Brien explains that the Party needs to control everything that might lead to a rebellion, including love. That is why he tortures Winston to make him forget Julia, and love the Big Brother.
Because even the history of the country of 1984 is controlled the motivation of the Party, what lead to Oceania to live under this situation is never revealed.
On the contrary in the Animal Farm the reasons of the animals to take the control are explained.
So the inevitable thought when both novels are analyzed is how can a system that came from such a noble cause end up being so corrupt.
Manipulation, corruption, making a fair cause something so terrible and horrible is what happens when societies try to create an Utopia.
The problem with the creation of this system is accepting that are some parameters to perfection, that perfection comes from a kind of universal truth, that whether it is good or bad.
But Universal History has demonstrated that even though history is written by winners, there are always two sides of every story.
What happen with the human the animals kick out of the farm? Did he suffer? Someone take care of him? It was not important because the animals were writing the story.
What if the Brotherhood were the bad guys first? What if the Party save the nation first and then got corrupted?
Nobody will give us the answer, not in the farm, not in 1984, not today.
The only answer to understand and accept whatever reality we live in is to enlightenment ourselves.
Kant (1784) wrote that Enlightenment is man's release from his self-incurred tutelage. Tutelage is man's inability to make use of his understanding without direction from another. Self-incurred is this tutelage when its cause lies not in lack of reason but in lack of resolution and courage to use it without direction from another. Sapere aude! 'Have courage to use your own reason!'- that is the motto of enlightenment.
Using our reason is understanding that even the most pure thought comes from very deep contrast, and the same thing happens with causes.
Think about Democracy and what it should be and what it is today, think about the Montesquieu and the separation of powers, even Communism with all the cons that has it is a beautiful idea.
The power of believing in an idea is what makes both novels so scary and transcendent, because we know that convictions can be so strong that are able to change the World.
The same idea is taken in the “Myth of the Cave”, The Matrix and The Hunger Games. The power of controlling what people watch and believe and even making them feel like they have a choice is what scares of our humanity. Every fictional universe has a degree of truth.
Even more in 1984 the same idea is taken when it is explain that the Party wants a new language that leaves out every glimpse of rebellion. “But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought” this referring that language is such a powerful weapon that can built reality. First we think, then we say and then we do. If the word does not exist we cannot think about it and we will never do anything about it.
All of this explains the failure of the systems, trying to control everything, trying to create the universal truth is destroying whatever humanity we have.
Because we are as human beings full of contradictions, and we try to make the best of it.
In the same words of Kant always recognize that human individuals are ends, and do not use them as means to your end.
Manipulation is the first form of violence, and the worst because most of the time it is hard to recognize it. Who ever is in the power is going to split your pretty cranium, and fill it full of air (Bowie, 1973) and it is up to everyone of us in our individuality not letting them.
The solution to the fever of believing in an Utopia is to read, study and never forget what had already happen.
Even to inspire ourselves with hope that we are able to get better, to find a better way, to accept that despite our willingness to be corrupted our willingness to be free is bigger, and maybe someday we will find the right way without hurting anybody.
References.
Orwell, G. (1945). Animal Farm. England: Plume.
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