George Orwell: You and the Atom Bomb

It is a commonplace that the history of civilisation is largely the history of weapons. In particular, the connection between the discovery of gunpowder and the overthrow of feudalism by the bourgeoisie has been pointed out over and over again. And though I have no doubt exceptions can be brought forward, I think the following rule would be found generally true: that ages in which the dominant weapon is expensive or difficult to make will tend to be ages of despotism, whereas when the dominant weapon is cheap and simple, the common people have a chance. Thus, for example, thanks, battleships and bombing planes are inherently tyrannical weapons, while rifles, muskets, long-bows and hand-grenades are inherently democratic weapons. A complex weapon makes the strong stronger, while a simple weapon--so long as there is no answer to it--gives claws to the weak.

Found via Tim Swanson

Good comment from a writer on plastic that I noticed a while back.

Plastic: Doubleplusgood Writer Born Antecenturywise, Was No Unperson

The point of 1984 is not that Big Brother style totalitarianism will take over the earth, or how it will happen. The point of the novel is to demonstrate the METHODS that these types of governments use to exert their control over the population. Things such as:
Language control like Political Correctness and other unwords

Constant surveillance -- like J.Edgar Hoover's FBI, the patriot act, isp/email monitoring etc

Constant War as a method to increase patriotism, increase production, increasing citizen dedication to the state while decreasing dissent.

Invisible Enemies Keeping people focused on boogeymen, traitors and terrorists who plan, scheme, recruit and destroy -- but are never found, seen or captured.

Reality Control Altering/faking documents and shredding or destroying any evidence that the government is wrong.

These and many others are the methods governments use to exert complete control over the citizenry.

1984 isn't a future history, but a description of methodologies. Taking that as a vision of the novel -- were are already IN most of 1984. I'll leave it use to plasticians to debate who/what the Thought Police are these days...

"Freedom begins between your ears" - Edward Abbey

here - nytimes registrasadk kljalkjfdlakjds;flka