Oligarchical Collectivism
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''The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism'' is a
fictional book An imaginary book or fictional bookFitzsimmons, Phillip, "Books Within Books in Fantasy and Science Fiction: 'You are the Dreamer and the Dream'" (2022). ''Faculty Books & Book Chapters''. 3. is a book which "traditionally exist only within secon ...
in
George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...
's
dystopian A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmenta ...
novel ''
Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also published as ''1984'') is a dystopian novel and cautionary tale by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final completed book. Thematically ...
'' (written in 1949). The fictional book was supposedly written by Emmanuel Goldstein, the principal enemy of the state of
Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...
's ruling party (The Party). The Party portrays Goldstein as a former member of the Inner Party who continually conspired to depose Big Brother and overthrow the government. In the novel, the fictional Goldstein's book is read by the protagonist, Winston Smith, after a supposed friend, O'Brien, provided one copy to him. Winston had recalled that "There were ... whispered stories of a terrible book, a compendium of all the heresies, of which Goldstein was the author, and which circulated clandestinely here and there. It was a book without a title. People referred to it, if at all, simply as The Book."


Background

In ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'', the protagonist Winston Smith writes a diary in which he confesses thought crimes, such as his secret hatred of Big Brother and the Party. In the course of his work life at the
Ministry of Truth The Ministry of Truth, the Ministry of Peace, the Ministry of Love, and the Ministry of Plenty are the four ministries of the government of Oceania in the 1949 dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'', by George Orwell. The use of contradictor ...
, Winston approaches O'Brien, a member of the Inner Party, believing him part of the Brotherhood, Goldstein's
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
against
Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...
. Initially, O'Brien appears as such, especially in arranging to give Winston a copy of "The Book", the possession of which is a crime in Oceania. In conversation, O'Brien tells Winston that "The Book" reveals the true, totalitarian nature of the dystopian society that The Party established in Oceania, and that full membership to the Brotherhood requires reading "The Book". Winston describes his first encounter with "The Book": The term Oligarchical Collectivism refers to
Ingsoc In George Orwell's 1949 dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'', the world is divided into three superstates: Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia, which are all fighting each other in a perpetual war in a disputed area mostly located around the eq ...
, the
dominant ideology In Marxist philosophy, the term dominant ideology denotes the attitudes, beliefs, values, and morals shared by the majority of the people in a given society. As a mechanism of social control, the dominant ideology frames how the majority of the ...
of Oceania, and to the ideologies of Neo-Bolshevism in Eurasia and Death-worship (Obliteration of the Self) in Eastasia. Winston reads two long excerpts establishing how the three totalitarian super-states – Eastasia, Eurasia, Oceania – emerged from a global war, thus connecting the past to his present, the year 1984, and explains the basic
political philosophy Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and Political legitimacy, legitimacy of political institutions, such as State (polity), states. This field investigates different ...
of the
totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public s ...
that derived from the
authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
political tendencies manifested in the twentieth century. That the three, ostensibly opposing ideologies are functionally identical is the central revelation of "The Book". Theoretically, Oligarchical Collectivism recalls the theory of
bureaucratic collectivism Bureaucratic collectivism is a theory of class society. It is used by some Trotskyists to describe the nature of the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin and other similar states in Central and Eastern Europe and elsewhere (such as North Korea). T ...
put forth by some
Trotskyists Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as a ...
in the late 1930s as a description of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
under
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
. Oceania's principal
enemy of the people The terms enemy of the people and enemy of the nation are designations for the political opponents and the social class, social-class opponents of the Power (social and political), power group within a larger social unit, who, thus identified, ...
, Emmanuel Goldstein, is modelled after
Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...
, a former member of the inner circle of the
Bolshevik Party The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...
whom Stalin purged and then declared an enemy of the people of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, the socialist state that Trotsky had helped found in Russia. From exile, Trotsky criticised the social system of the Soviet Union.


Contents

"Chapter I: Ignorance is Strength", and "Chapter III: War is Peace" of "The Book" are titled with The Party's slogans; O'Brien later refers to chapters featuring a programme for deposing the inner party.


Chapter I

"Ignorance is Strength" details the perpetual
class struggle In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...
characteristic of human societies; beginning with the historical observation that societies always have hierarchically divided themselves into social classes and
caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...
s: the High (who rule); the Middle (who work for, and yearn to supplant the High), and the Low (whose goal is daily survival). Cyclically, the Middle deposed the High, by enlisting the Low. Upon assuming power, however, the Middle (the new High class) recast the Low into their usual servitude. In the event, the classes perpetually repeat the cycle, when the Middle class speaks to the Low class of "justice" and of "human brotherhood" in aid of becoming the High class rulers. Ian Slater writes that Goldstein goes beyond George Orwell's beliefs in earlier work, such as ''
A Clergyman's Daughter ''A Clergyman's Daughter'' is a 1935 novel by English author George Orwell. It tells the story of Dorothy Hare, the titular clergyman's daughter, whose life is turned upside down when she suffers an attack of amnesia. It is Orwell's most formall ...
'', in which the Middle makes a pretence of believing in equality. In ''
Animal Farm ''Animal Farm'' (originally ''Animal Farm: A Fairy Story'') is a satirical allegorical novella, in the form of a beast fable, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of anthropomorphic far ...
'', the state sought power to improve society, but once technological advances make equality possible, the Middle abandons their former promises, as socialism only stands in the way of their aims; they become explicitly tyrannical and openly hostile to equality. The new rhetoric of the Middle becomes Ingsoc and hierarchical
collectivism In sociology, a social organization is a pattern of relationships between and among individuals and groups. Characteristics of social organization can include qualities such as sexual composition, spatiotemporal cohesion, leadership, struct ...
. This naked pursuit of power, without any pretense of concern for equality, distinguishes The Party from previous tyrannies, though The Party initially justifies its control through dedication to socialism. By focusing on collectivism, The Party can consolidate their power and present Ingsoc as an inevitable followup to capitalism in which the Low are no longer exploited. In reality, the social
caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...
s are no longer necessary, and collectivism only serves to prolong the exploitation of the Low. Slater states that while O'Brien does not own his mansion, he still lives in luxury compared to the lower castes. Once The Party consolidates its power, all justifications are abandoned. The Party itself is a
meritocracy Meritocracy (''merit'', from Latin , and ''-cracy'', from Ancient Greek 'strength, power') is the notion of a political system in which economic goods or political power are vested in individual people based on ability and talent, rather than ...
, not hereditary. This is not rooted in egalitarianism but practicality, as The Party realizes that its continuation depends on purity of orthodoxy, rather than a bloodline. Unlike Orwell's prior writing, The Party's exploitation in this case is fully intentional. Slater writes that Orwell desired to show through The Party's unrealistic politics that modern authoritarianism was growing more lustful of power for power's sake. Orwell believed that modern states could bring about the desires of the
Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition () was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile and lasted until 1834. It began toward the end of ...
not only to control people but also to control their thoughts. This could be achieved through technological breakthroughs, such as the telescreen, a two-way television that allows continuous government surveillance of the population. Efficient use of such technology to control the populace requires centralisation, and the four ministries of Oceania – the Ministries of Truth, Peace, Love, and Plenty – fill this need. The Proles usually are not subject to propaganda. Instead, it is the middle class – the Outer Party – that the Inner Party fears. Because the Proles have lost everything and have nothing, they have no future. The Party, through the Ministry of Truth, practices
historical revisionism In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of a historical account. It usually involves challenging the orthodox (established, accepted or traditional) scholarly views or narratives regarding a historical event, timespa ...
, which robs the Proles of a past, too. Robbed of the ability to learn from history and the worries of the future, the Proles exist in a state of constant present and are incapable of revolution. In order to prevent any unorthodoxy, the Ministry of Truth uses
Newspeak In the dystopian novel '' Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also published as ''1984''), by George Orwell, Newspeak is the fictional language of Oceania, a totalitarian superstate. To meet the ideological requirements of Ingsoc (English Socialism) in O ...
, an impoverished language that makes heresy impossible by omitting words that could express it. Newspeak also reduces thought to simple opposites, such as good and "ungood", an intentional dichotomy that hides nuance and ambiguity while promoting black and white thinking. Inner party's members are further subject to self-deceptive habits of mind, such as ''crimestop'' ("preventive stupidity"), which halts thinking at the threshold of politically dangerous thought, and ''
doublethink Doublethink is a process of indoctrination in which subjects are expected to simultaneously accept two conflicting beliefs as truth, often at odds with their own memory or sense of reality. Doublethink is related to, but differs from, hypocris ...
'', which allows simultaneously holding and believing contradictory thoughts without noticing the contradiction, to wit:


Chapter II

Chapter II, presumably titled "Freedom is Slavery" after the remaining inner party's slogan, is not read by Winston. However, O'Brien later explains the meaning of the slogan: the free man is always condemned to defeat and death. Only when submitted to the collective and undying Party, can a man become omnipotent and eternal:


Chapter III

Before reading the first chapter, Winston reads the third chapter "War is Peace", which explains that slogan-title's meaning, by reviewing how the global super-states were established: The
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
merged with the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
(and later
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
) to form Oceania; the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
absorbed mainland
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
to form Eurasia; and Eastasia emerged "after a decade of confused fighting", with
China proper China proper, also called Inner China, are terms used primarily in the West in reference to the traditional "core" regions of China centered in the southeast. The term was first used by Westerners during the Manchu people, Manchu-led Qing dyn ...
's annexation of
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
,
Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
and parts of
Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
and
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
. In various alliances, they have warred for twenty-five years. Yet the perpetual war is militarily nonsensical, because "it is a warfare of limited aims between combatants who are unable to destroy one another, have no material cause for fighting and are not divided by any genuine ideological difference", since each is a totalitarian state. Scientific advance is held carefully in check, as The Party does not want to allow for any unaccounted abundance of goods, which could conceivably raise the quality of life beyond bare subsistence for the Proles. The only technological advances permitted are in mind control and genocide, the twin goals of each of the superstates. Once mind control is perfected, the superstates are free to destroy their counterparts in a theoretical single, decisive strike that precludes retaliation. Technological advancement, even in war, can be counterproductive to the goals of The Party; none of the superstates are a true threat to each other, as they all must exist in a state of permanent limited war to survive. By harnessing the hysteria of war and demand for self-sacrifice, each of the nations declare war not on each other but on their own populace, who are kept ignorant, on the brink of starvation, and overworked. Permanent limited war also allows for The Party to divert attention away from domestic concerns and their failures. Instead of promises of an "easy, safe life", Slater writes that Orwell believed that the populace requires heroic nationalism. Thus, war becomes a psychological tool to establish a kind of ironic "peace", a stasis where progress is impossible and nothing ever changes, except for the possibility of eventual global conquest. However, even though the Inner Party's members have devoted their lives to establishing Oceania as the universal world power, they use doublethink also in connection with the war, knowing that it is necessary for the conflict to go on indefinitely to keep the structure of Oceanic society intact.


Later chapters

Winston never has the opportunity to finish reading ''The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism'', and learn the "Whys?" of Oceania and the world order in 1984 before the
Thought Police In the dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (1949), by George Orwell, the Thought Police (''Thinkpol'' in Newspeak) are the secret police of the superstate of Political geography of Nineteen Eighty-Four , Oceania, who discover and punish '' ...
arrest him and Julia, yet he believes that the hope of change lies within the Proles. The question of 'Why?' is later revealed to him by O'Brien during the torture:


Authorship

O'Brien rejects as nonsense Winston Smith's perspective that Big Brother and The Party can be overthrown, because he is a fiercely devoted member of the inner party, and not a
revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...
of the Brotherhood. At the Miniluv, O'Brien tortures Winston to "cure" him of his political insanity: the belief that there exists an objective reality that is external to the reality of The Party. In their torture chamber conversations, he tells Winston that "The Book" (fictional book supposedly written by Goldstein) was actually written by a committee that included himself. When Winston asks O'Brien if "The Book" is true, he replies: "As description, yes. The programme it sets forth is nonsense." The reader never knows whether O'Brien's version is true, or Goldstein's authorship is the truthful version, since The Party changes the past in order to control the present and the future, that stands on the words: "those who control the past control the future. And who controls the present controls the past". So, The Party (in each superstate) controls the present, changes the past, and forces the future in their interest and pervasive existence (avoiding "the Middles") to do what they did in order to reach power and control through government and bureaucratic collectivism. Therefore, keeping the oligarchical collectivism and perpetuating Big Brother's rule.


Significance

Eric Cheyfitz noted that "whatever the function of his bookis within the plot of the novel, Orwell uses its extensive elaboration in the novel to make political points about the present of 1949 and the future he imagines unfolding from this present." The book has been described as a
parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
and critique of ''
The Revolution Betrayed ''The Revolution Betrayed: What is the Soviet Union and Where is it Going?'' () is a book published in 1936 by the former Soviet leader Leon Trotsky. The book criticized the Soviet Union's actions and development following the death of Vladimir ...
'' (1937), by Leon Trotsky; and '' The Managerial Revolution'' (1941), by
James Burnham James Burnham (November 22, 1905 – July 28, 1987) was an American philosopher and political theorist. He chaired the New York University Department of Philosophy. His first book was ''An Introduction to Philosophical Analysis'' (1931). Bur ...
, a former
Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism Fictional elements introduced in 1949 Nineteen Eighty-Four Fictional books Fictional philosophies Pseudepigraphy Books about Trotskyism