1984 Government And Totalitarianism

While government as an institution can be used for benevolent purposes, George Orwell’s novel 1984 contends that when taken to an excess in the form of totalitarianism, government becomes dangerously self-serving. It is clear that the government of Oceania in 1984 is self-serving, existing not to benefit its citizens or the elite Party members, but existing purely to exist and grow. Perhaps the most clear indication of this was O’Brien explaining the Party’s motives while torturing Winston. O’Brien explains that “the Party seeks power only for its own sake” and that “the object of power is power.” (185) This clearly indicates that the government of Oceania, a totalitarian state, seeks power not to improve the lives of citizens, but for power

In the same instance, O’Brien heavily implies that other totalitarian states, even if shallowly good-natured, ultimately exist for the same reason that the Party exists; to gain power and self-replicate. O’Brien explicitly names Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia, the largest totalitarian states of Orwell’s time, stating that “they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, and perhaps even believed, that they seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and around the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal.” (185) Here, Orwell is making a direct appeal through the voice of O’Brien, stating that totalitarianism is by nature self-serving. While political revolution could start with the greater good in mind, the installation of a totalitarian government allows government to become completely self-serving, leading the state away from defending the original purpose of revolution. Orwell’s point is demonstrated throughout history; for example, in Soviet Russia, a regime originally enacted under the stated purpose to benefit the proletariat and peasant classes, ended up diverting resources from peasants and using them to benefit an elite political class. Thus, totalitarianism, which is unrestrained government taken to an excess, by nature becomes

Rather, it contends that when government is unrestrained in the form of totalitarianism, as exemplified by the Party of Oceania, it can by nature exist only to serve itself. This argument serves as Orwell’s warning against the dangers of totalitarianism; it is so corrupting a force that it can hide behind claims of good intentions, but ultimately exists only to accumulate its own power. Furthermore, since a totalitarian drive for power constitutes a total control of its citizenry and a political structure that necessitates its existence, as shown by the military strategy of the Party, Orwell warns that once a truly totalitarian state is in place, there is no possible way to overthrow it or turn back from it. Ultimately, Orwell sees a government that is so distorted it has become completely self-serving as the largest threat, defining his view of totalitarianism and the themes of his