The Terrifying Prescience of George Orwell’s 1984

By Andrew Bernstein

Author’s note: This article contains spoilers.

First and foremost a magnificent novel, George Orwell’s 1984 is also a terrifyingly prescient political commentary. Written by an Englishman in 1949, it substantially mirrors the trajectory of American politics today.

We can see this by examining four main elements:

the story as a whole;

the political principle…