Will the economy survive totalitarianism
Business and economy
We leave our past behind. Now. Everything you know shall be banned, everything you do, you say— is watched by the party. We continue now by this:
“Big Brother is watching you.”
And we leave the horror, breadlines, and poverty of our capitalistic world we knew.
Today, the telescreen will guide us into doing what is right and avoid thoughtcrimes. Tomorrow, we will obey Big Brother while in the four ministries each of us has been assigned to: Truth, Love, Peace, and Plenty. And for the rest of our lives, honour the party and of course Big Brother, everything they say we will believe, and we will follow.
The telescreen has confirmed that Oceania is at war with Eastasia, and we will support it, the only way to move forward is by embracing change. “War is Peace”, the system of Capitalism swept by Big Brother for a better future, because we unite only if there is a common enemy, right?
Unfortunately, yes, proving we are now more peaceful when there’s war is slightly disappointing for our future generations. Gladly, this is a great advantage for the economy; a comfortable trade with equal distribution is what the middle-class have been desiring for the past centuries. Also, strictly, the three super-states are totally self-sufficient and do not engage in trade between themselves.
"War prisoners apart, the average citizen of Oceania never sets eyes on a citizen of either Eurasia or Eastasia, and he is forbidden the knowledge of foreign languages". We care for each other in Oceania so this is a success for Big Brother and win for all—because in peace we unite.
From the newly launched information, it is promised we avoid poverty; the people (the proles) are equal and are expected to live happily dependent from our victory gin, victory coffee. Moreover, there is another new rule: “Ignorance is Strength”, that is, with opinion, no matter how logical, is considered insane. You cannot be devoted to business, there is no creativity, no risk-taking, no imagination, because it is forbidden. Only Big Brother can do that, he is strong and infinite, that is why we believe we are protected forever from our wrongdoings. As a result, there is no competition or war; we will only flourish.
The third rule is: “Freedom is Slavery”, our freedom and pleasure are wrong, that is why the opportunity of discovering ourselves is the start of slowly destroying ourselves too, with freedom comes slavery. The scramble for markets is no longer necessary, businesses are not about cash, the competition for raw materials is no longer a matter of life or death; there is no power in wealth—wealth only exists in the party and Big Brother. We will be safe without “marketing strategies” and the knowledge of business, which means we cannot harm ourselves.
Ever since the end of world war II, the problem of what to do with the surplus of goods has been latent in industrial society. During this final phase of capitalism the economy of other countries will be allowed to stagnate, the soil will be dry and cropless, capital equipment will be offered to the government, even property, large amounts of people will be prevented from working and be kept half alive by government charity; what only needs to be solved is to keep the wheels of the industry turning without increasing the real wealth of the world. Goods must be produced, and goods must be distributed.
Despite equal distributions, cash transactions will also take place for wages and consumption goods. A large nip of Victory gin is $0.10, a high-quality writing book is $2.50, a rented room in the private market is a few dollars a week, and a telescreen is "expensive". There is a parallel black market in which scarce goods are redistributed at higher prices. Party members were not allowed to enter ordinary shops, they insisted that the rules were strictly kept—although we could see them having shoelaces and razor blades which were impossible to get hold of any other way.
Along with other needs, the Party decides our own fate—however, we despise. Just like they said, they know better than us. And whoever is against, even secretly is just another lost body, an odd, a flaw in Oceania; the thought police are one step closer bringing ‘them’ in room 101—where it might ‘better’ them or might be their last breath, and if it’s that, they won’t realize the bright future they're leaving ahead of us.
The world stands with socialism, a movement that revolutionized the way our society grinds. We are entering the new world built more perfect; Big Brother defines the term ‘Humanity’ as it is shown, without selfishness, superiority, and discrimination, in this new world I can only see equality and a perfect society.
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