Dakota Beacon

George Orwell wrote his allegorical novel “Animal Farm” as satire about a society’s blind march towards totalitarianism. The book appears as applicable to American society today as it did when first written.

George Orwell (pseudonym for Eric Arthur Blair) was a writer earning his living composing political novels and essays. Born in 1903 in India, his family returned to England in 1907. Orwell entered Eton in 1917, where he contributed regularly to the various college magazines. Several years of poverty followed his graduation. He contributed reviews and articles to a number of periodicals and was eventually commissioned to visit areas of mass unemployment in Lancashire and Yorkshire. Based on what he witnessed he wrote a powerful description of poverty in his book “The Road to Wigan Pier” (1937). In all, Orwell wrote over sixty books.

Many writers of the ‘20s, ‘30s, and ‘40s flirted with “soft” socialism (non-totalitarian forms not to be confused with a critique of capitalism). These included Ernest Hemingway, H. G. Wells, John Steinbeck, Aldous Huxley, and of course George Orwell. Though leaning toward socialism, none would have rejected an American constitutional system in favor of authoritarian socialism.

Spoiler alert! An overview of “Animal Farm” follows. “Animal Farm” opens with a meeting of frustrated animals of Manor Farm. An old pig speaks of life where animals are free from human masters and no humans exploit them. Pigs named Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer formulate a philosophy called Animalism. A revolt breaks out, the animals overthrow the farmer, and they kick him off the land.

Time passes. Napoleon and Snowball often disagree struggling for power and influence. Snowball devises a labor-saving electricity-generating windmill. Napoleon rejects the plan. A meeting and vote is called but Napoleon chases Snowball off the farm with dogs. He declares Snowball to be a traitor and proclaims himself as leader. He further declares there will be no more meetings and the pigs alone will make all decisions for every animal.

Napoleon’s powers grow. He behaves more like a human by forgoing the principles of Animalism. He sleeps in a bed, drinks whisky, and trades with neighboring farmers. Squealer justifies Napoleon’s actions by touting his great leadership in improving their lives. In fact, the other animals are cold, hungry, and overworked.

Over time the pigs become increasingly human walking upright, carrying whips, and wearing clothes. Napoleon changes the name of Animal Farm back to the Manor Farm. Eventually, the seven principles of Animalism are reduced to only one principle: “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

In the end, the animals cannot tell the difference between pigs and men. The pigs have become as cruel and oppressive as their former human masters.

Orwell was asked pointedly to write a preface to the Ukrainian edition of “Animal Farm” in 1945. It was intended for Ukrainians living in camps for Displaced Persons (DP) administered by the Americans and British following World War II. This preface provided explicit statements by Orwell about his disposition toward socialism. Keep in mind that these Ukrainians originally approved of the October Revolution in Russia. However, they turned against the “counter-revolutionary” Stalin and the “Russian nationalistic exploitation of the Ukrainian people.” The preface was intended for DP camp people but was also proposed for soldiers and others behind the Iron Curtain.

In his own words from the preface, “Up to 1930 I did not on the whole look upon myself as a Socialist. In fact I had as yet no clearly defined political views. I became pro-Socialist more out of disgust with the way the poorer section of the industrial workers were oppressed and neglected than out of any theoretical admiration for a planned society.”

In 1936 Orwell went to Spain to fight for the Spanish Government. Instead of joining the International Brigade of foreigners, through a series of errors he mistakenly joined the Spanish Trotskyists. When the Communists gained partial control of the Spanish government, they began to hunt down the Trotskyists. “Many of our friends were shot, and others spent a long time in prison or simply disappeared. These man-hunts in Spain went on at the same time as the great purges in the USSR and were a sort of supplement to them…It taught me how easily totalitarian propaganda can control the opinion of enlightened people in democratic countries…And so I understood, more clearly than ever, the negative influence of the Soviet myth upon the western Socialist movement.”

Julian Symons wrote the Introduction to “Animal Farm” and parsed Orwell’s sympathies. “Orwell had sympathy for Trotsky as a persecuted…individual, but very little interest in the Trotskyist movement and no sympathy with the theory of ‘permanent revolution’. He was a pragmatic…thinker who distrusted all theorists. Napoleon and Snowball…represent Stalin and Trotsky…”

Orwell’s “Animal Farm” delivers a chilling allegory while offering a fun read. Today it offers a metaphor for the authoritarianism exhibited by the surging American left enabled by academia, the legacy media, and big tech.

The moral of “Animal Farm”? Corruption defeats our highest aspirations. If you are down for the struggle, read “Animal Farm” to your kids and grandkids as an act of cultural resistance.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).