Canadian Experimental Cognitive Psychologist who doesn't live in Europe, let alone in the United Kingdom tells us why Orwell was wrong.

Canadian Experimental Cognitive Psychologist who doesn't live in Europe, let alone in the United Kingdom tells us why Orwell was wrong.

1984 revisited in the Times: https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/1984-revisited-george-orwell-future-vision-compared-wg6l72png

But quite wrong How wrong?

Exactly like the author I am rereading 1984 after almost exactly the same number of years. Specifically analysing and comparing with what has happened and what is still happening in the world and in particular the United Kingdom. The authors quotes are italicised.

"The number of wars that have taken place in Western Europe since 1946 is zero" How about Bosnia and the genocide that took place in Srebrenica? And one might include Ukraine (but for the author conveniently outside Western Europe) and Ireland which was tantamount to war....

Wikipedia lists 94 significant conflicts since 1945

"The number of wars between great powers is one: namely the Korean War, which pitted China against the US more than 70 years ago.

"Clever wording to avoid one of the worst and dirtiest proxy wars ever fought. Vietnam

Exactly what Orwell said, keep the wars going to use up arms.

"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - for ever. But a different picture of the future emerged in 1989: ecstatic crowds sledgehammering the Berlin Wall to smithereens. It was the beginning of another pleasant surprise in postwar history: the nonviolent collapse of the Soviet bloc and then of the Soviet Union itself, the most obvious inspiration for Orwell's dystopia

." He needs to ask many inhabitants of the German eastern states (Sector) how successful and peaceful that was? Being enslaved in Bautzen II wasn't war but it wasn't exactly heaven either. Nor was it over in a day.

"To be sure, today we are living through a democratic recession, with autocracy on the rise in Russia, Hungary and other countries."

How about the loss of freedom of speech in the UK. Is the author blind or rather deaf?

Yes the number of pages in Wikipedia has increased but the language many people now use on the other side of the pond "Cali cool," Californian woke slang (unintelligible Harry and M dumbspeak) and here in many cases Wokespeak.

"So why did Orwell's prophecies, when taken literally rather than rhetorically, turn out so wrong?"

If the author analysed in depth with first hand knowledge, have a chat with Allison Pearson, he would find the fundamentals of freedom in the United kingdom going down the drain. The system is very much akin to what Winston reads to Julia from the book in their rented room.

The Author of this badly researched piece is a Canadian Experimental Cognitive Psychologist who doesn't live in Europe, let alone in the United Kingdom.