Examples Of Fascism In 1984 By George Orwell

In World War II, the increased aggression of the Axis Powers and further knowledge on their ideologies caused widespread fear across the world. This fascist threat from Germany, Italy, and Japan brought the powers of the Allied countries into the war to fight for their freedom. Ultimately, the Allies were victorious against fascism, and many people believed–and still believe–that fascism could never again exist in the modern age. This idea then begs the question: what would our world look like if fascism prevailed? Although this thought is distasteful to most, author George Orwell published his most popular novel in 1984 concerning this same prospect. Even with the book releasing in such a short time after fascism’s initial rise, Orwell nails

To continue, Adorno states that an authoritarian conventionalist will be “capable of totally exchanging one set of standards for another quite different one” (Adorno 230). This is essentially the definition of doublethink in 1984’s world, where the Party members “hold two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accept both of them” (Orwell 270). Doublethink is the mode through which the fascists hold power over the minds of their subjects, forcing them to believe everything they tell them, even if they know the past says otherwise. Anything short of complete acceptance of party values is considered a thought crime. A comparison is easily drawn here with the conventionalism Adorno describes, since punishment of death is a great pressure that the Party members have to deal with, essentially put on by themselves and their coworkers. In addition to the Party members themselves, their children also appear to be indoctrinated into conventionalism and party rhetoric. Winston makes a remark on the adoption of fascist principles in children, as well as their role as surveillance tools for the