Totalitarianism In 1984 Research Paper

In the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, totalitarianism is defined: “A totalitarian government seeks to control not only all economic and political matters but the attitudes, values, and beliefs of its population, erasing the distinction between state and society” (“Totalitarianism”). Dictators use trickery and oppression to build up the power of the government and degrade the populace. In his novel 1984, George Orwell warns about the dangers of a totalitarian government, as the citizens of Oceania blindly praise and obey Big Brother and the Party. In this dystopia, the Party can catch even those who think thoughts against the Party and take them away from society. Similarly, in China and Russia, an authoritarian party works
to maintain its power and take away from the rest of the citizens. Orwell wrote the novel in opposition to the rise in totalitarian government but themes from 1984 are still relevant to authoritarian governments existing currently. Shown through both events in 1984 and modern day, censorship and the destruction of human values demonstrate that a totalitarian or authoritarian government deceives and suppresses the population to ensure its total power.

Censorship is used by a oppressive regime to conceal any opposing views and promote only their ideals.
For example, in 1984, when the Party changes all records to make it seem like Oceania was always at war with Eurasia instead of Eastasia, Winston sees that everyone obliviously has no problem with this and applies a Party slogan to the situation: “Who controls the past, …controls the future: who controls the present controls the past” (Orwell 34). The public unconsciously accepts the Party’s brainwashing and lies, and thus, the Party can change the past or present to their needs, while people obediently follow. The Party is able to manipulate the rest of Oceania, and therefore have authority and ultimate power without any question or opposition. Additionally, as social media becomes more prominent, China’s authoritarian government is quick to put down any political criticism: “The heavy censorship practiced by the Chinese government is widely felt by the citizens on social media, who easily notice politically sensitive material being deleted within an hour of being posted or entire platforms being shut down for days at a time” (Ma 48-49). Similar to 1984, the Chinese government tries to avoid the spread of information that might cause a citizen question the credibility of authority. Any opposing ideals are censored in order to lessen the probability of spreading liberal ideas and to affirm the government’s power. The Party in 1984 and the Chinese government utilize censorship to mask alternating views so the importance of the central government is
emphasized.

Authoritarian or totalitarian governments also rob people of their human rights to direct power toward the government. For instance, when Winston wonders why O’Brien is going through so much trouble to torture him instead of just killing him, O’Brien responds, “When finally you surrender to us, it must be of your free will . . .We make the brain perfect before we blow it out” (Orwell 255). Party members lose their right to independent thought because the Party demands that individuality be replaced with Oceania’s orthodox principles. In this dystopia, even Winston, who was once a firm opponent to the Party, is stripped of his freedom of thought and inevitably conforms to the ideals of the Party, showing moral degradation the Party forces onto people in order to be superior. Furthermore, in Russia, Vladimir Putin leads an authoritarian administration and in 2012, personally legislated “An anti-gay law criminalizing ‘propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations to minors’. . . to curry favor with the ROC [Russian Orthodox Church]” (Aron 22). Just like how the Party promotes orthodox ideals in 1984, Putin keeps a traditional regime in Russia by taking away the freedom of love from homosexuals and aligning with the ideals of the Russian Orthodox Church.. He suppresses minorities to accentuate his own power, because he makes it illegal to disagree with Russian tradition. Rights and freedoms are taken away from individuals, demonstrating the oppressive nature of an autocratic, central government.

Totalitarian and authoritarian governments aims to centralize its power by censoring opposing ideals and taking away freedoms to force submission to the government’s standards. In 1984, Orwell portrays censorship as the Party’s tool of deception that makes sure the population of Oceania is exposed solely to the Party’s principles. Comparably, China recently started taking down select social media posts because they are in opposition with the Party. The connection between 1984 and events from present day is also seen through the government’s oppression of human values; both governments disapprove of individuality and promote compliance with orthodox fundamentals. Through 1984, Orwell illustrates the distress of a nation under totalitarianism that would have existed years ago, yet similar conditions of oppression are still prevalent in today’s world.