• Huldra [they/them, it/its]
    ·
    3 years ago

    It possesses far more direct and overt references to the Soviet Union and propaganda about the Soviet Union than it ever does about Britain, if it was intended as a critique of Britain it failed at every step to establish that and we can obviously see this in how it is perceived by literally everyone everywhere, and furthermore it wouldnt matter even if all the literal obvious USSR references was removed cause again, the theory of Authoritarianism excludes all western countries that arent overt enemies of the west, Britain wasnt an enemy so at worst there was the fear that it may one day come to slightly resemble its enemies, not that it was and had always been authoritarian.

    • Nagarjuna [he/him]
      ·
      3 years ago

      Okay. Sure, but Orwell's criticisms of Britain were grounded in having been a colonial policeman and having been homeless in Britain.

      His criticisms of the Soviet Union were grounded in seeing them suppress the revolutionary left in Spain during the civil war.

      He was criticizing both in order to advocate for the kind of socialist politics he'd be exposed to in Spain.

      A lot of elements were clearly references to Britain, the tenements, the bucolic aesthetic of the proles, the rampant censorship, the forever wars, etc.