"The Politics of Starvation" is an

essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

published in 1946 by the English author

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 ...

. The essay argues the need to help feed Europeans after the war, and attributes motives to left-wingers who oppose the idea.

Background

Rationing in the United Kingdom Rationing was introduced temporarily by the British government several times during the 20th century, during and immediately after a war. At the start of the Second World War in 1939, the United Kingdom was importing 20 million long tons ...

was introduced at an early stage of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and did not end completely until 1954. It became stricter after the war ended than during the hostilities, with bread rationing beginning in 1946 and potato rationing in 1947. This was largely because of the need to feed the population of European areas coming under British control, whose economies had been devastated by the fighting. Save Europe Now was an organisation under the aegis of Orwell's publisher

Victor Gollancz Sir Victor Gollancz (; 9 April 1893 – 8 February 1967) was a British publisher and humanitarian. Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing politics. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism; he defined himself as a Christian ...

which was concerned with the relief and reconstruction of Europe after the war.Matthew Frank ''The New Morality—Victor Gollancz, ‘Save Europe Now’and the German Refugee Crisis, 1945–46'' Oxford Journals
/ref> The essay first appeared in ''

Tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the Tribune of the Plebs, tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs ac ...

'' on 18 January 1946.

Summary

Orwell has received a wad of literature from the "Save Europe Now Committee" arguing that whereas we are reasonably well off, a good part of Europe is lapsing into brute starvation. He contrasts this with a letter in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' by Air Chief Marshal Sir Philip Joubert which states that on his return to Britain he found the children looking pallid and suety compared with the rosy-cheeked youngsters of Denmark and criticises those who would cut present British rations to give more to the Germans. Orwell quotes extensively from the "Save Europe Now" material on the shortages of food and medicines in places like Austria and Czechoslovakia and Budapest and the breakdown of law and order among children, and reports that the voluntary scheme proposed was discouraged officially. Orwell gives two reasons for the Left being against the scheme. Firstly the

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

es would resent it, and secondly food is a political weapon and Russophiles consider that sending food to Eastern Europe is an attempt to undermine the prestige 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 ...

. In conclusion Orwell argues that letting Germans go hungry would have the same effect as the punitive reparations after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Politics of Starvation, The Essays by George Orwell 1946 essays Works originally published in Tribune (magazine)

Background

Summary

See also

References