• CURIOUSLY the superb revival of George Orwell’s writings about “fairness”, “decency” and “responsibility” neglects his immediate relevance concerning techniques of news management-surveillance on citizenry…

Via “thought police” (the web’s advertising strategy and selling brands?); “Doublethink” (holding two contradictory beliefs simultaneously… Brexit?); “Newspeak” (repetitious slogans purging words… fake news?); ignorance of the past, England as “Airstrip One” (for the USA?), and a future influenced by publicity experts…

Orwell wrote in Coming Up for Air (1939): “The world we’re going down into… is the slogan-world” and in 1942: “The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world.”

His media critique challenged “democracy” as much as “totalitarianism”.

MIKE BOR
St George’s Fields, W2