* INTRODUCTION: I am not a Democrat, or so I have been told, though I have considered myself to be one since I was capable of considering

such things. It was Jimmy Carter who inspired my political interest. When he first ran for president I was only ten years oldthe youngest child of a single-mother who drew heavily from the dole and paid little attention to politics. Carter was familiarly earthy in his peanut scented overalls, and he seemed to sincerely care about people li e me. While other politicians could ma e me feel li e a wasteful burden upon society, Carter did not. I fashioned a hand-made lawn sign on his behalf and planted it beside our front stoop in his honor. I cheered when he became my president. !ecause of the connection that I felt to Carter, I gave my allegiance to his party the party of the poor and the downtrodden, the party of people li e me. It was a simple, superficial, emotional choice, but a profound one. I was a Democrat. "s I became more politically aware, I discovered that there was more to ma ing political choices, however, than #ust feeling that a politician or party cares. " bad plan, no matter how sympathetically conceived or compassionately e$ecuted, is still a bad plan. %hough I was fortunate enough to rise out of poverty, most of my fellow poor were not, despite the Democrat &arty's decades-long (War on &overty)and I began to wonder why. When I loo ed about me with a critical eye, I saw a sea of dependency perpetuated by programs that destroyed personal incentive. I saw that these social programs were wedded to social attitudes that e$alted individualism and re#ected responsibility. "nd I found the ethic of carewhich had first attracted me to Carter and the Democrats

< hypocritically did not e$tended to the wea est and most innocent among us. +omehow, I was an anti-welfare, communitarian, pro-lifer but, nonetheless, still a Democrat. Why did I continue to claim a party with which I so often disagreed, When someoneoften an evangeli-ing .epublicanconfronted me with my many dissents from my chosen party, I would most often respond with something li e/ (%hough the Democrats are sincerely stupid, at least they are sincere.) I believed I was a William Casey0 Cardinal 1'Connor ind of Democratcommitted to socially conservative values while willing and determined to ma e use of government to ma e people's lives better. In this way, I numbed my political dissonance. !ut I am wearing down, and my self-#ustifying arguments seem increasingly hollow. I thin I have now been told too many times that I am not really a Democrat more and more often by militantly pro-choice, pro-homose$uality, pro-affirmative action Democrats, in addition to .epublican recruitersand it is beginning to sin in. 2onetheless, I still cannot imagine calling myself a .epublican. It is a difficult thing to shed a political identity, even when it conflicts with one's political values. I cannot help but wonder if 3eorge 1rwell also endured such struggles of political identity. %hough an avowed socialist, 1rwell spent his lifetime critici-ing socialists and socialism. 4or e$ample, in his most famous wor , Nineteen Eighty-Four, he presents 5in a description from (3oldstein's boo )6 a most unflattering caricature of socialism/ +ocialism, a theory which appeared in the early nineteenth century and was the last lin in a chain of thought stretching bac to the slave rebellions of anti7uity, was still deeply infected by the 8topianism of past ages. !ut in each variant of +ocialism that appeared after about *9:: onwards the aim of establishing liberty and e7uality was more and more openly abandoned;. %hese new movements, of course, grew out of the old ones and tended to eep their names and pay lip-

F service to their ideology. !ut the purpose of all of them was to arrest progress and free-e history at a chosen moment;. =+o> the ?igh would be able to maintain their position permanently. * If 1rwell was so disillusioned with the socialism of his day, as to see it as but a front for totalitarian designs, one must as why he claimed socialism as his personal ideology. "nd one must wonder whether he was any more a true socialist than I am a true Democrat. ORWELLS SOCIALISM: %o discover whether 1rwell truly was a socialist, we must first understand what socialism meant to him. "nd to understand this, we must see @ngland through his eyes. !ecause, for 1rwell, (socialism) meant (@nglish socialism.) 1rwell characteri-ed @ngland as the (most class-ridden country under the sun), and as (a land of snobbery and privilege, ruled largely by the odd and silly.) < Despite being silly snobs who perpetually s7uandered their fortunes, however, the ruling class survived and perpetuated itself through recruitment of new snobs/ =%>hey simply intermarried with merchants, manufacturers, and financiers who had replaced them, and soon turned them into accurate copies of themselves. %he wealthy ship-owner or cotton-miller set up for himself an alibi as a country

3eorge 1rwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four 52ew Aor , 2A/ ?arcourt, !race and Company, *9B96, <:B.
*

<

3eorge 1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius 5Condon, 8D./ +ec er E Warburg, *9B*6, FF. In an even more vivid and entertaining description, 1rwell claimed that @ngland (resembles a family, a rather stuffy Gictorian family, with not many blac sheep in it but with all its cupboards bursting with s eletons. It has rich relations who have to be ow-towed to and poor relations who are horribly sat upon, and there is a deep conspiracy of silence about the source of the family income. It is a family in which the young are generally thwarted and most of the power is in the hands of irresponsible uncles and bedridden aunts. +till, it is a family. It has its private language and its common memories, and at the approach of an enemy it closes its ran s. " family with the wrong members in controlthat, perhaps is as near as one can come to describing @ngland in a phrase.) 1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, FH.

B gentleman, while his sons learned the right mannerisms at public schools which had been designed for #ust that purpose.F %hus any persons with the resources and abilities to potentially challenge the ruling class were absorbed into it and transformed by it. .ather than being critical of snobbery, they aspired to it. %he moneyed classsnobs and would-be-snobspossessed little that 1rwell found virtuous, particularly because they did so little wor . %hey were (mere owners, their wor being done for them by salaried managers and technicians;. %hey were simply parasites.)B 4urthermore, the wealthy elite, though they fed on the sweat of the masses, damningly felt no guilt for doing so. 1rwell thought this a particularly un#ustifiable attitude, considering their snobbish training, which emphasi-ed honor, duty, and sacrifice for others/ =%>hey belonged to a class with a certain tradition, they had been to public schools where the duty of dying for your country, if necessary, is laid down as the first and greatest of the Commandments. %hey had to feel themselves true patriots, even while they plundered their countrymen. Clearly there was only one escape for theminto stupidity. %hey could eep society in its e$isting shape only by being unable to grasp that any improvement was possible.H %his intentional inability to perceive the in#ustice that they perpetuated, led 1rwell to consider the upper class to be a lost cause. %hus, if they could not be reformed, they must be removed. &rivilege itself was the enemy of social #ustice. (.ight through our national life we have got to fight against privilege, against the notion that a half-witted public-schoolboy is better fitted for command than an intelligent mechanic.)I
F

1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, FI. 1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, FJ-FK. 1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, FK-F9. 1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, JH.

H !ecause 1rwell wanted to end privilege, it was natural for him to loo to an ideology that re#ected class distinctionssocialism.J !ut this ideological choice was more a matter of coincidence or convenience, than of philosophical commitment. 1rwell fran ly described the rather passive way in which he chose to label his personal beliefs and ob#ectives as (socialism)/ (=+>ince a classless, ownerless society is generally spo en of as Lsocialism', we can give that name to the society towards which we are now moving.)K Despite (socialism) being #ust an easy label for the classless society that 1rwell preferred for @ngland, his vision of socialism had much in common with the standard view of a socialist society. 1f course, it was built upon the public ownership of industry, 9 which then led to a particular sort of economic system. 1rwell e$plained/ In a socialist economy ; =t>he +tate simply calculates what goods will be needed and does its best to produce them. &roduction is only limited by the amount of labour and raw materials. Money, for internal purposes, ceases to be a mysterious all-powerful thing and becomes a sort of coupon or ration-tic et, issued in sufficient 7uantities to buy such consumption-goods as may be available at the moment.*:

1rwell often spo e of socialism with e$aggerated confidence. ?e seemed to be bluffing, perhaps to compensate for a lac of substantive #ustifications. 4or e$ample, he wrote/ (=@>veryone who uses his brain nows that +ocialism, as a world-system and wholeheartedly applied, is a way out;. +ocialism is such elementary common sense that I am sometimes ama-ed that it has not established itself already.) 3eorge 1rwell, The Road to igan !ier 52ew Aor , 2A/ !er ley Medallion, *9I*6, *BB.
J K

1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, KJ-KK.

(What is needed is that the ownership of all ma#or industry shall be formally vested in the +tate, representing the common people.) 1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, *::. 4or 1rwell, such state involvement, on behalf of the people, then produced personal accountability for the people. ?e claimed that (+tate-ownership implies, therefore, that nobody shall live without wor ing.) 1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, *::.
9 *:

1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, I*.

I !ut, in the same passage, 1rwell felt the need to immediately distinguish his understanding of socialism from the socialism that he saw being practiced in his day/ ?owever, it has become clear in the last few years that (common ownership of the means of production) is not in itself a sufficient definition of +ocialism. 1ne must also add the following/ appro$imate e7uality of incomes 5it need be no more than appro$imate6, political democracy, and abolition of all hereditary privilege, especially in education;. Centrali-ed ownership has very little meaning unless the mass of the people are living roughly upon an e7ual level, and have some ind of control over the government.** 1rwell believed that such additional features were (simply the necessary safeguards against the reappearance of a class-system;. =1r else,> L%he +tate' may come to mean no more than a self-elected political party, and oligarchy and privilege can return, based on power rather than on money.)*< 1rwell's determination to have a truly classless socialism also led him to place particular emphasis on the need for e7uality in income and education. While he admitted 5perhaps with unsocialist sentiment6 that (=i>t has been shown over and over again that without some ind of money reward there is no incentive to underta e certain #obs), he argued that (there is no reason why ten to one should not be the ma$imum normal variation =among incomes>.)*F ?e also proposed a leveling of educational opportunities as a first important step on the road to his socialist ideal/ (We could start by abolishing the autonomy of the public schools and the older universities and flooding them with +tate-aided pupils chosen simply on grounds of ability. "t present, public-school

**

1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, I*-I<. 1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, I<. 1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, *:F.

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*F

J education is partly a sort of ta$ that the middle classes pay to the upper class in return for the right to enter certain professions.)*B In addition to putting great emphasis on e7uality of income and education 5even listing them as fundamental, foundational elements of his personal ideological agenda*H6, 1rwell also de-emphasi-ed the importance of stereotypically socialist ideals regarding revolution, cultural-change, and technical progress. %hough he believed that (=i>t is only by revolution that the native genius of the @nglish people can be set free), he also e$plained that (=r>evolution does not mean red flags and street fighting, it means a fundamental shift of power. Whether it happens with or without bloodshed is largely an accident of time and place.)*I ?e also argued 5what (to this day =is> considered unmentionable in left-wing circles)6 that an (old-fashioned Lproletarian revolution' is an impossibility.)*J 1rwell could not imagine that a total cultural transformation, so oft envisioned as an element of socialist revolutions, could ever ta e place. &ost-revolutionary @ngland would remain in many ways unchanged/ "n @nglish +ocialist government will transform the nation from top to bottom, but it will still bear all over it the unmista able mar s of our own civili-ation;. It will not be doctrinaire, nor even logical. It will abolish the ?ouse of Cords, but 7uite probably will not abolish the Monarchy. It will leave anachronisms and loose ends everywhere, the #udge in his ridiculous horsehair wig and the lion and
*B

1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, *:F-*:B.

*H

When 1rwell outlined his (si$ point programme) for instituting socialism in @ngland, he called first for (I. =%he> 2ationali-ation of land, mines, railways, ban s an ma#or industries.) ?is ne$t two points were/ (II. Cimitation of incomes, on such a scale that the highest ta$-free income in !ritain does not e$ceed the lowest by more than ten to one. III. .eform of the educational system along democratic lines.) 1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, 99 5paragraph brea s removed6.
*I

1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, JB-JH. 1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, 9B.

*J

K the unicorn on the soldier's cap-buttons. It will not set up any e$plicit class dictatorship;. =I>t will never lose touch with the tradition of compromise and the belief in law that is above the +tate. It will shoot traitors, but it will give them a solemn trial beforehand, and occasionally it will ac7uit them. It will crush any open revolt promptly and cruelly, but it will interfere very little with the spo en and written word. &olitical parties with different names will still e$ist, revolutionary sects will still be publishing their newspapers and ma ing as little impression as ever. It will disestablish the Church, but will not persecute religion. It will retain a vague reverence for the Christian moral code, and from time to time will refer to @ngland as (a Christian country.)*K Why did 1rwell believe7uite in contrast to Mar$ist0Ceninist thoughtthat @nglish socialism would never be characteri-ed by an atheistic re#ection of bourgeois cultural habits and icons, !ecause such a re#ection was not an essential element of 1rwell's (socialist) vision, nor was it compatible with practical desires of the @nglish wor ingclass 5whose support @nglish socialism re7uiredand whose needs @nglish socialism would serve6. 1rwell believed that the @nglish common man's (vision of the +ocialist future) was defined only by a (vision of present society with the worst abuses left out, and with interest centering round the same things as at the presentfamily life, the pub, football, and local politics.)*9 4urthermore, he claimed that he had (never met a wor ing man who had the faintest interest in) the (philosophic side of Mar$ism,) including (the pea-andthimble tric with those three mysterious entities, thesis, antithesis, and synthesis;.)<: 1rwell felt that the (genuine wor ing man='s>) simplistic view of socialism made him (a truer +ocialist than the orthodo$ Mar$ist, because he does remember, what the other so
*K

1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, ***-**F 5paragraph brea s removed6.

1rwell, The Road to igan !ier, *B9. (%o the ordinary wor ing man ; +ocialism does not mean much more than better wages and shorter hours and nobody bossing you about.) 1rwell, The Road to igan !ier, *B9.
*9 <:

1rwell, The Road to

igan !ier, *B9.

9 often forgets, that +ocialism means #ustice and common decency.)<* It was this common, sensible view of socialismrather than the intricate musings of Mar$ist philosophy that resonated with 1rwell. ?e firmly believed that it would resonate with others, and that it truly could change @ngland if but two things were (hammer=ed> ; home into the public consciousness. 1ne, that the interests of all e$ploited people are the sameN the other, that +ocialism is compatible with common sense.)<< Mar$ist theori-ing was completely unnecessary and even distracting to such ends. 4or 1rwell, the intellectual side of the socialist movementand, in particular, its utopian, technological leaningswas not only unnecessary, but was also undesirable and even counter-productive. ?e argued that orthodo$ (+ocialism is bound up, more or less ine$tricably, with the idea of machine-production.)<F 1rwell believed that this orthodo$ socialist obsession with technological advancement was driven by the desire for an (ordered world, an efficient world), but that (it is precisely from that vision ; that sensitive minds recoil.)<B

1rwell, The Road to igan !ier, *B9. In another place, 1rwell wrote/ (=4>ortunately there ; e$ists a vision of +ocialism 7uite different from =orthodo$ Mar$ism>. %he thing that attracts ordinary men to +ocialism and ma es them willing to ris their s ins for it, the Lmysti7ue' of +ocialism, is the idea of e7ualityN to the vast ma#ority of people +ocialism means a classless society, or it means nothing at all. "nd it was here that those few months in the militia were valuable to me. 4or the +panish militias, while they lasted, were a sort of microcosm of a classless society. In that community where no one was on the ma e, where there was a shortage of everything but no privilege and no boot lic ing, one got, perhaps, a crude forecast of what the opening stages of +ocialism might be li e. "nd, after all, instead of disillusioning me it deeply attracted me. %he effect was to ma e my desire to see +ocialism established much more actual than it had been before.) 3eorge 1rwell, "omage to #atalonia, in The #om$lete or%s of George &rwell, vol. I 5Condon, 8D/ +ec er E Warbug, *9KI6, KF-KB.
<* <<

1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to

igan !ier, *9:. igan !ier, *HJ 5emphasis in original6. igan !ier, *HK 5emphasis in original6.

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*: 1rwell thought that (many of the 7ualities we admire in human beings can only function in opposition to some ind of disaster, pain or difficultyN) which the technologically progressive socialists were mista enly trying to eliminate from human life.<H %he result would be (to frustrate the human need for effort and creation.)<I +neeringly, 1rwell referred to such visions of (Lprogress') as #ust (ma ing the world safe for little fat men.)<J 1rwell much preferred a world wherein, despite regulations ensuring a rough e7uality, men still had to live by the sweat of their brows and greater efforts earned greater rewards. 1rwell's socialism thus emphasi-ed e7uality of opportunitycreated by educational access 5based on ability6 and a compressed income scalewhile re#ecting the necessity of social uniformityachieved through dramatic cultural and technological change. %his vision of socialism can ma e sense if one eeps in mind that for 1rwell e7uality was not and end, but was a means. 4or 1rwell, (the essential aims of +ocialism are #ustice and liberty.)<K ?is desire was to free common men from the oppressions of wage slavery, to allow them to earn the #ust due that their abilities merited, and thus open a world of personal possibilities to them.<9 %hese were, or at least should have been, the
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1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to

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1rwell's socialist vision seems to have much in common with the ("merican dream)wherein e7uality is defined in terms of opportunity rather than outcome. "s I read 1rwell's e$planations, I was reminded of a fictional conversation between two Civil War soldiers in +haara's classic The 'iller (ngels. In that e$change, one soldier claims there is a divine spar in all humans that ma es them fundamentally e7ual. %he other ob#ects and supplies a #ustification that I believe 1rwell would have understood and respected, and perhaps even agreed with/ (Dilrain rubbed his nose, brooding. %hen he said, L%he truth is, Colonel, that there's no divine spar , bless you. %here's many a man alive no more value than a dead dog. !elieve me, when you've seen them hang each other; @7uality, Christ in ?eaven. What I'm fighting for is the right to prove I'm a
<9

** true motivating ob#ectives behind the red banners, the marches, and Mar$ist readings groups. (+ocialism does mean #ustice and liberty when the nonsense is stripped off it.)F: It was his focus on (#ustice and liberty) that 1rwell felt most fundamentally separated him from the Mar$ist intellectuals who self-assuredly led the socialist movements of his day. ?e believed that the pursuit of #ustice and liberty was not even a conscious consideration for such orthodo$ socialists. ?e lamented/ =%>he underlying ideal of +ocialism ; =is> #ustice and liberty. !ut it is hardly strong enough to call this ideal (underlying.) It is almost completely forgotten. It has been buried beneath layer after layer of doctrinaire priggishness ; until it is li e a diamond hidden under a mountain of dung.F* 1rwell doubted that socialist intelligentsia would embrace this forgotten (truth,) even if confronted with it. When he proclaimed that (the real +ocialist is one who wishesnot merely conceives it as desirable, but actively wishesto see tyranny overthrown), he also #udged (that the ma#ority of orthodo$ Mar$ists would not accept that definition, or would only accept it very grudgingly.)F< Why did 1rwell thin that so many of his (fellow) socialists would re#ect the centrality of (#ustice and liberty) to their belief system, %he answer lay in their deep mistrust of the wisdom and intelligence of the masses 5who they ironically claimed to be
better man than many. Where have you seen this divine spar in operation, Colonel, %he 3reat White Jo er in the + y dooms us all to stupidity or poverty from birth. 2o two things on earth are e7ual or have an e7ual chance, not a leaf nor a tree. %here's many a man worse than me, and some better, but I don't thin race or country matters a damn. What matters is #ustice. '%is why I'm here. I'll be treated as I deserve, not as my father deserved. I'm Dilrain, and I 3od damn all gentlemen. I don't now who me father was and I don't give a damn. %here's only one aristocracy, and that's right here' he tapped his white s ull with a thic finger;.) Michael +haara, The 'iller (ngels 52ew Aor , 2A/ .andom ?ouse, *9JB6, *KK.
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1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to

igan !ier, *K<. igan !ier, *J9. igan !ier, *9F.

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*< in the service of6. (%he truth is that to many people, calling themselves +ocialists, revolution does not mean a movement of the masses ; =but> a set of reforms which Lwe,' the clever ones, are going to impose upon Lthem,' the Cower 1rders.)FF %hus, since the masses were incapable of choosing their own proper future, a leadership caste composed of pure Mar$ist intellectualswould need to be enshrined above them, to guide them.FB %he common people would simply (be forced to be free) 5to borrow a phrase from .ousseau6.FH 1rwell believed that this distrust of the masses and reliance on elitism had thoroughly infected all the socialist movements. "s a result, it had become the (fashion) among socialists of 1rwell's day 5or so he claimed6 (to deny that +ocialism has anything to do with e7uality.)FI In addition, 1rwell saw (=i>n every country in the world a huge tribe of party-hac s and slee little professors) who were (busy Lproving' that +ocialism means no more than a planned state-capitalism with the grab-motive left intact.)FJ +uch conceited, selfish leadership presented an repugnant barrier to the mobili-ation of (=t>he ordinary decent person, who is in sympathy with the essential aims of +ocialism,) but who (is given the impression that there is no room for his ind in any +ocialist party that

FF

1rwell, The Road to

igan !ier, *H*.

It is surely from this perceived conceit that 1rwell drew the piggish attitude satiri-ed in (nimal Farm by the slogan/ ("ll animals are e7ual but some animals are more e7ual than others.) 3eorge 1rwell, (nimal Farm: ( Fairy Story, H:th "nniversary @dition 52ew Aor , 2A/ ?arcourt, !race E Company, *99H6, *B9.
FB

Jean-Jac7ues .ousseau, &n the Social #ontract, in The )asic !olitical ritings, trans. and ed. Donald ". Cress, with an introduction by &eter 3ay, *B*-<<J 5Indianapolis, I2/ ?ac ett &ublishing Company, *9KJ6, *H:.
FH FI

1rwell, "omage to #atalonia, KF. 1rwell, "omage to #atalonia, KF.

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*F means business.)FK %hus, if socialismparticularly 1rwell's idea of socialismwas to ever be victorious, a basic shift in the socialist approach was re7uired. 1rwell believed that the socialist movement had to be simplified and populari-ed, to appeal more tangibly to the aspirations of the people it was intended to serve 5rather than #ust to the intellectual elite6. %his approach dictated that (=a>t this moment it is =a> waste of time to insist that acceptance of +ocialism means acceptance of the philosophic side of Mar$ism.;)F9 It also re7uired that a more universal motivation be promoted/ (%he +ocialist movement has not time to be a league of dialectical materialistsN it has got to be a league of the oppressed against the oppressors.)B: In sum, 1rwell's socialist program was founded not at all on economic theory, but rather on a desire for removing the class-based obstacles that stood in the way of personal freedom, opportunity, and #ustice. ?e saw the pursuit of such goals as a practical 5rather than a philosophical6 e$erciseto be underta en by the motivated masses 5rather than by a dictatorial elite6. "nd, most importantly, it was to be done for the edification of the common man, rather than to serve a sterile utopian vision. 1rwell's overriding emphasis on the relationship of socialism to the common desire for #ustice and liberty, led one
FK

1rwell, The Road to

igan !ier, *HB 5emphasis in original6.

1rwell, The Road to igan !ier, *KF. 1rwell thought the philosophical debates of socialism were unimportant enough that they should be entirely put aside until a socialist state was achieved (the time to argue about them is afterwards.) 1rwell, The Road to igan !ier, *KB.
F9

1rwell, The Road to igan !ier, *KB. 1rwell thought that the societal conditions associated with the +econd World War provided an unusual opportunity for the successful transition to this populist-brand of socialism/ ("t such a time it is possible, as it was not in the peaceful years, to be both revolutionary and realistic. " +ocialist movement which can swing the mass of the people behind it, drive the pro-4ascists out of positions of control, wipe out the grosser in#ustices and let the wor ing class see that they have something to fight for, win over the middle classes instead of antagoni-ing them, produce a wor able imperial policy instead of a mi$ture of humbug and 8topianism, bring patriotism and intelligence into partnershipfor the first time, a movement of such a ind becomes possible.) 1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, 9H.
B:

*B author to insightfully proclaim the essential nature of 1rwell's personal ideology/ (1rwell is an ethical socialist.)B* "s such, 1rwell thought himself 7uite different from other socialist intellectuals of his day. THE SOCIALISM OF ORWELLS DAY: "lthough 1rwell thought himself out of step with (orthodo$ socialism,) he was not the only socialist of his day with an oddly ethical, rather than economic, focus. In the same era, 3ordon ?os ing claimed that socialism (aims at the practical application of Christ's teaching)NB< and "rthur Clutton-!roc argued that (the desire for spiritual freedom is the basis, the only basis, of socialism.)BF !ut 3.D.?. Cole e$pressed a vision of socialism most similar to that of 1rwell. Cole, li e 1rwell, was particularly repulsed by the (class-ridden) nature of @nglish society. %he problem was e$acerbated, in Cole's mind by the economic stagnation of the noble class, which forced the old gentry to ma e room at the top of the social structure for self-made (gentlefol ) and their new money. %he possibility of climbing the social ladder actually spread the evils of social distinction throughout
!ernard Cric , 1rwell and +ocialism, in George &rwell: ( Reassessment, ed. &eter !uitenhuis and Ira !. 2adel, F-*9 5Condon, 8D/ Macmillan &ress, *9KK6, *B.
B*

3ordon ?os ing, ( Summary of Socialism 5Condon, 8D/ %he Cabour &ublishing Co., *9<I6, 9. ?os ing also defined e7uality in terms similar to 1rwell/ (+ocialism does not want to ma e all individuals e7ual, but it recogni-es that they all have e7ual rights to certain things. "ll children and adults are entitled to e7ual opportunities for education and social advancement. "ll human beings, including mothers, children and invalids, are entitled to an ade7uate share of the necessaries of life. "ll people who serve society to the best of their ability have an e7ual right to be happy.) ?os ing, ( Summary of Socialism, HH.
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"rthur Clutton-!roc , The !hiloso$hy of Socialism, 4abian %ract 2o. *K: 5Condon, 8D/ %he 4abian +ociety, *9FF6, *:. ?e defined +piritual freedom as/ (=%>he e$ercise of all spiritual faculties, the intellectual and the aesthetic as well as the moral), and as (freedom in which alone a man can do what is right for its own sa e, can pursue truth for its own sa e, and can en#oy and produce beauty for its own sa e.) Clutton-!roc , The !hiloso$hy of Socialism, 9.
BF

*H society/ (=+>tratification in comple$ forms has replaced the old simple contrast between Lgentlefol ' and Lcommon' people. %here are countless overlapping circles of social superiority and inferiorityN and their range e$tends right into the manual wor ing class.)BB "s a result, individuals at all levels tried to distinguish themselves from the (riff-raff) that surrounded them, and willingly stepped on the bac s of those below in their effort to ascend to those above. It is an e$planation of the @nglish condition that un7uestionably mirrors 1rwell's. "s with 1rwell, Cole's discomfort with the structure of @nglish society led him to embrace (socialism.) (!y +ocialism) Cole meant a (society in which men and women are not divided into opposing economic classes, but live together under conditions of a$$ro*imate social and economic e+uality;.)BH ?is devotion to socialist ideology, however, was limited to those elements needed to fight the (two main enemies) of the socialist(poverty and enslavement.)BI "s a result, Cole could concisely outline his socialist agenda in his boo The Sim$le #ase for Socialism/ I am setting out in this boo to put down the case for +ocialism in the simplest possible terms;. +ocialism, as I understand it, means four closely connected thingsa human fellowship which denies and e$pels distinctions of class, a social system in which no one is so much richer or poorer than his neighbors as to be unable to mi$ with them on e7ual terms, the common ownership and use of all vital instruments of production, and an obligation upon all citi-ens to serve one another according to their capacities in promoting the common well-being.BJ %his description of socialismnoticeably devoid of any reference to deeper Mar$ist philosophywas complete. 4or Cole, (=n>othing is +ocialism) that fails to (embrace)
BB

3.D.?. Cole, The Sim$le #ase for Socialism 5Condon, 8D/ Gictor 3ollanc- Ctd., *9FH6, <:H. Cole, The Sim$le #ase for Socialism, J 5emphasis added6. Cole, The Sim$le #ase for Socialism, *9. Cole, The Sim$le #ase for Socialism, J.

BH

BI

BJ

*I the four simple points of his outline, because (nothing further is needed to ma e a +ocialist society.)BK In the application of his few core (socialist) principles, Cole advocated a (constructive socialism)focused on practical cures for practical problems, such as unemploymentto allay the common fears that tal of a socialist revolution might prompt.B9 Cole was intent on remedying the evils of economic ine7uality, rather than bringing about a dramatic, radical transformation of social culture. In fact, he preferred to leave as much personal freedom in the hands of the masses as possible/ I want a free society in the sense of a free-and-easy society, with a deep belief in letting people go their own ways in all matters that can be left free-and-easy without opening the road to social brigandage or gangsterism, or interfering dangerously with the use of social wealth for the promotion of the general happiness.H: %hus, Cole echoed 1rwell's concerns about class-stratification, his advocacy of socialism as the solution for society's ills, and his definition of (socialism) as a nondogmatic ideology that preserves most personal freedoms while focusing on practical solutions. !ut, even while having so much in common with 1rwell, Cole still saw socialism as primarily an economic theory, designed to fight the (two main enemies) of (poverty and enslavement.)H* In significant contrast, as has already been discussed above, 1rwell saw economic theory as but a tool to reach the (the essential aims of +ocialism) which are (#ustice and liberty.) H<
BK

Cole, The Sim$le #ase for Socialism, J.

B9

3.D.?. Cole, +ocialism for @nglishmen/ +ome @ssentials of +ocialist &ropaganda 5Condon, 8D/ %he 4abian +ociety, *9F<6, *I-*J.
H:

Cole, The Sim$le #ase for Socialism, IF. Cole, The Sim$le #ase for Socialism, *9. 1rwell, The Road to igan !ier, *JK.

H*

H<

*J While ending (poverty and enslavement) is certainly related to achieving (#ustice and liberty) 5or 1rwell and Cole could find no common ground in (socialism)6, the two sets of goals are not identical, and their pursuit has the potential to produce 7uite different practical results. %he Cold War conflict between communism and liberal democracy could even arguably be described as essentially a battle over which of these value sets is more importantwith the @ast fighting poverty at the e$pense of liberty while the West preserved liberty despite resulting poverty. In the pursuit of his preferred ends, Cole would undoubtedly be willing to accept more severe infringements on personal liberties than would 1rwellN while 1rwell would li ely be more accepting of economic disparity. +uch differences certainly distinguish 1rwell's ideal of (socialism) from the socialism advocated by Cole. 1rwell had even less in common with other socialist thin ers of his era. " prime e$ample is .obert Dell, who wrote a boo entitled Socialism and !ersonal LibertyHFto deal with the truth, also recogni-ed by 1rwell, that (many +ocialists) would (gladly admit that +ocialism and personal liberty are incompatible.)HB 1ne would be tempted to guess that Dell advocated a liberty-based socialism similar to that championed by 1rwell. !ut such a guess would be wrong. %hough Dell made a few hopeful comments about socialism (=t>heoretically) being (entirely compatible with personal liberty), he could only provide a convoluted, economically based e$planation of how this is so/ (=+ocialism's> aim is the transformation of society into La great economic co-operative' by the sociali-ation of the

HF

.obert Dell, Socialism and !ersonal Liberty 52ew Aor , 2A/ %homas +elt-er, *9<<6. Dell, Socialism and !ersonal Liberty, *:.

HB

*K means of production;. =%hus> all are free because each is free.)HH 4or Dell, (liberty) is primarily a function of economic conditions rather than of personal rights. ?e claimed (liberals ma e the mista e of assuming that =liberty> can be reali-ed merely by the absence of legal restrictions on liberty) because (=t>hey do not ta e into account the fact that certain economic conditions are necessary to ma e liberty positive.)HI "s a result, Dell cast (democratism)HJ and (statism) HK as the enemies of socialism and liberty 5as he defined them6. "nd, when Dell turned to the advocacy of (Cibertarian +ocialism,) his discussion was framed entirely around the economic conse7uences of redistributing land, setting wages, and fi$ing prices.H9 Issues regarding such things as freedom of the press, access to education, and the necessity of democratic politicsall fundamentally important to 1rwell's socialist visionwere either ignored by Dell or dealt with negatively, in favor of economic considerations. Giews such as those of Dell led Morris ?ill7uist, in a boo summari-ing the common tenets of the socialist ideology 5as they e$isted in 1rwell's formative years6, to describe the central motives of socialism in purely economic terms.I: ?ill7uist believed that the (+ocialist movement was called into life by economic conditions) as (an attempted solution of the problems inherent in =those> conditions.)I* 4urthermore, he
HH

Dell, Socialism and !ersonal Liberty, IH. Dell, Socialism and !ersonal Liberty, *K. +ee chapter F in Dell, Socialism and !ersonal Liberty. +ee chapter B in Dell, Socialism and !ersonal Liberty. +ee chapter K in Dell, Socialism and !ersonal Liberty.

HI

HJ

HK

H9

Morris ?ill7uist, !resent-day Socialism 52ew Aor , 2A/ %he .and +chool of +ocial +cience, *9<:6.
I: I*

?ill7uist, !resent-day Socialism, 9.

*9 concluded that (=t>he cardinal demand of +ocialism is the abolition of private ownership in the vital sources and instruments of wealth production;.)I< In writing his summary of socialism, ?ill7uist made absolutely no mention of (liberty) 5the primary motivation behind 1rwell's socialism6 in either the first chapter of the boo entitled (%he Causes %hat Ma e for +ocialism)or in the second chapter entitled (%he +ocialist "im.) In ?ill7uist's opinion, it appears, (#ustice and liberty) were not primary concerns for most socialists. In addition, ?ill7uist saw socialism as elitedriven/ (%he +ocialist program contemplates the planful building of the new order by an intelligent and disciplined wor ing class, thoroughly organi-ed, well trained, and fully 7ualified to assume the reins of government and the management of the industries.)IF In sum, ?ill7uist believed that the socialism of 1rwell's day was defined by the elite pursuit of an alternative economic systemrather than by the desire of the masses for liberty and #ustice. ?ill7uist's anti-1rwellian understanding of socialism is evidenced not only in the theoretical writings of socialist thin ers from 1rwell's era, but also in the practical programs advocated by @nglish socialist parties and individuals. 4or e$ample, resolutions adopted at the annual conference of @ngland's Independent Cabour &arty in *9FJ included declarations about such topics as unemployment, economically distressed areas, stri es, etc., but nothing about liberty. IB In addition, the (Constitution for the +ocialist Commonwealth of !ritain,) proposed by +idney and !eatrice Webb made only
I<

?ill7uist, !resent-day Socialism, 9. ?ill7uist, !resent-day Socialism, BH.

IF

Independent Cabour &arty, Through #lass Struggle to Socialism: Resolutions (do$ted at (nnual #onference, Easter, -./0 5Condon, 8D/ Independent Cabour &arty, *9FJ6.
IB

<: a single fleeting reference to personal liberty 5claiming that it would be sufficiently protected by a bicameral legislative structure6NIH while John +trachey, in suggesting a (&rogramme for =+ocialist> &rogress) on behalf of the Ceft !oo Club, focused on practical economic solutions such as (.educing the .ate of Interest)II and the (.edistribution of Income.)IJ It seems that few, if any, other socialists were deeply concerned about the issues that 1rwell thought most fundamental#ustice and liberty. IK 1rwell's impression that his socialist ideas were unorthodo$ in their day appears to be a correct #udgment. In contrast to 1rwell's ethical concerns about #ustice and liberty, most other socialists were obsessed with economic revolution.I9 While 1rwell saw economic reorgani-ation as a means to achieve his desired ends, other socialists saw it as an end itself. With these differences in mind, one would be hard pressed to label
+idney Webb and !eatrice Webb, ( #onstitution for the Socialist #ommon )ritain 5Condon, 8D/ Congmans, 3reen, and Co., *9<:6, *B:.
IH II

ealth of Great

+ee chapter B in John +trachey, ( !rogramme for !rogress, Ceft !oo Club @dition 5Condon, 8D/ Gictor 3ollanc- Ctd., *9B:6.
IJ

+ee chapter H in +trachey, ( !rogramme for !rogress.

&erhaps the reason that most socialists were unconcerned about issues of liberty and #ustice can be found in the origins of modern socialist thought. Darl Mar$ and 4rederic @ngels in the #ommunist 1anifesto refer 7uite negatively to personal liberty/ ("nd the abolition of this state of things is called by the bourgeois, abolition of individuality and freedomO "nd rightly so. %he abolition of bourgeois individuality, bourgeois independence, and bourgeois freedom is undoubtedly aimed at.) Darl Mar$ and 4rederic @ngels, The #ommunist 1anifesto: ( 1odern Edition, with an introduction by @ric ?obsbawn 52ew Aor , 2A/ Gerso, *99K6, HB.
IK

@$amples of the common economically centered socialism 5rather than ethically centered6 that dominated 1rwell's era can be seen in the writings of other prominent socialists. "s one e$ample, 3erald 3ould believed that the coming socialist revolution would simply be about economic ine7uality/ (!roadly spea ing, some possess capital and others, because of that, have to wor on terms dictated by the capitalist. %hat, rightly or wrongly, the wor ers increasingly resent/ to that, rightly or wrongly, they increasingly attribute what they feel to be the moral wrongness of their lot.) 3erald 3ould, The #oming Re2olution 5Condon, 8D/ W. Collins +ons E Co., Ctd., *9<:6, HI. "s another e$ample, ?arold Cas i viewed freedom as a function of economic resources/ (4reedom, therefore in an essential way, is limited to the owners of property. ?arold J. Cas i, Socialism and Freedom, 4abian %ract 2o. <*I 5Condon, 8D/ %he 4abian +ociety, *9<H6, K.
I9

<* 1rwell as a (socialist) 5at least as the term was commonly used and understood in his day6 if he had not so adamantly claimed the title. 1ne must then wonder why he chose to thin of himself as a socialist. %he answer is to be found in 1rwell's personal history.

ORWELLS LIFE: 1rwell believed that it was (=t>he gentleness of the @nglish civili-ation) that was (its most mar ed characteristic.)J: %his (gentleness) was a symptom of a pervasive @nglish class structure, which was not entirely e$plicable in terms of money. @nglish class distinctions, according to 1rwell, were maintained (by a sort of shadowy castesystem) wherein people with the same income, such as a naval officer and a grocer, were not considered socially e7uivalent.J* If social stratification had been based solely on income, 1rwell e$plained, (the public-school man would assume a coc ney accent the day his income dropped below P<:: a year)N but he does not, and instead (immediately becomes twenty times more &ublic +chool than before;. cling=ing> to the 1ld +chool %ie as to a life-line.) "s a result, it was (in fact very difficult to escape, culturally, from the class into which you have been born.)J<

1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, *J. "t the same place, 1rwell provided evidence for this claim by pointing out that @ngland (is a land where the bus conductors are good-tempered and the policemen carry no revolvers.)
J: J*

1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to

igan !ier, *:K. igan !ier, *KI.

J<

<< 1rwell was assigned his permanent place in this @nglish caste system when he was born into a (lower-upper-middle class) family. JF In such a family, 1rwell's (gentility was almost purely theoretical.)JB In other words, he new how to do things he could not afford to do. (In the ind of shabby-genteel family) in which he was raised, there was (far more consciousness of poverty than in any wor ing-class family;.)JH +uch a (shabby-genteel family) ferociously clings to its gentility, because gentility is the only thing it has left to distinguish it from the wor ing class.JI Despite 5or perhaps because of6 their lac of a truly genteel income, people in 1rwell's position loo ed down mercilessly upon the wor ing class. (%o me in my early boyhood, to nearly all children of families li e mine, Lcommon' people seemed almost sub-human.)JJ 1rwell recogni-ed that his (snobbishness) was derived from childhood lessons (in which a middle-class child is taught almost simultaneously to wash his nec , to be ready to die for his country, and to despise the Llower class.')JK 1rwell learned such lessons with a particular power while attending an (e$pensive and snobbish school).J9 "t that school (it was universally ta en for granted ; that unless you went to a Lgood'

JF

1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to

igan !ier, *:J. igan !ier, *:9. igan !ier, *:9 5emphasis in original6. igan !ier, **:. igan !ier, ***. igan !ier, **H.

JB

JH

JI

JJ

JK

3eorge 1rwell, +uch, +uch Were the Joys;5*9H<6, in The &rwell Reader: Fiction, Essays, and Re$ortage by George &rwell, with an introduction by .ichard ?. .overe, B*9-BHI 52ew Aor , 2A/ ?arcourt, !race and Company, *9HI6, B<B.
J9

<F public school 5and only about fifteen schools came under this heading6 you were ruined for life.)K: @ven within the elite environment of 1rwell's public school, caste distinctions were made. %he (rich boys were more or less undisguisedly favored) and the fact that 1rwell was there on scholarship was continually thrown bac in his teeth by the headmaster and his wife.K* 1rwell and other poorer students (were discouraged from going in for Le$tras' such as shooting and carpentry, and were humiliated over clothes and petty possessions.)K< +uch humiliations taught him powerful lessons about his place in @nglish society/ %hat was the pattern of school lifea continuous triumph of the strong over the wea . Girtue consisted in winning/ it consisted in being bigger, stronger, handsomer, richer, more popular, more elegant, more unscrupulous than other peoplein dominating them, bullying them, ma ing them suffer pain, ma ing them loo foolish, getting the better of them in every way. Cife was hierarchical and whatever happened was right.KF 1rwell was forced to concluded that (according to =unalterable> law I was damned. I had no money, I was wea , I was ugly, I was unpopular, I had a chronic cough, I was cowardly, I smelt.)KB !ut 1rwell's public school humiliations did not immediately give him sympathy for the downtrodden masses. Instead, he e$plained, being poor at school (made me cling
K:

1rwell, +uch, +uch Were the Joys;, B<K. 1rwell, +uch, +uch Were the Joys;, B<B-B<H. 1rwell, +uch, +uch Were the Joys;, B<K. 1rwell, +uch, +uch Were the Joys;, BBJ.

K*

K<

KF

1rwell, +uch, +uch Were the Joys;, BBK. +uch treatment turned 1rwell into 5at least in his younger years6 a chronic pessimist/ (8ntil I was about thirty I always planned my life on the assumption not only that any ma#or underta ing was bound to fail, but that I could only e$pect to live a few years longer.) 1rwell, +uch, +uch Were the Joys;, BBK.
KB

<B tighter than ever to my gentility.)KH 1rwell came to (despise=> anyone who was not describable as a Lgentleman.')KI !ut, (on the other hand,) he admitted that his school e$periences (filled me with resentment against the boys whose parents were richer than mine and who too care to let me now.)KJ "s a result, he (also ; hated the hoggishly rich;.)KK (?ence, at the age of seventeen or eighteen,) 1rwell (was both a snob and a revolutionary.)K9 +ince 1rwell was an elitist snob who also 5parado$ically,6 hated the rich, he naturally began to (loosely describe= himself> as a +ocialist.)9: !ut, by his own admission he did not have (much grasp of what +ocialism meant,) and he had (no notion that the wor ing class were human beings.)9* %hus, 1rwell became a socialist at first simply because that was what a dissatisfied @nglish snob did. +o, as 1rwell entered adult life, his social views had been constructed for him by his place in the @nglish caste systemand that place had been mandated by the circumstances of his birth. ?e was loc ed into a certain uncomfortable place in society, which he despised. ?e sought escape by leaving @ngland to serve in the Indian Imperial &olice in !urma. !ut his time in !urma only served to e$acerbate his discontent.

KH

1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to

igan !ier, **9. igan !ier, *<:. igan !ier, **9-*<:. igan !ier, *<:. igan !ier, *<*. igan !ier, *<F. igan !ier, *<F.

KI

KJ

KK

K9

9:

9*

<H In !urma, 1rwell had a series of e$periences that showed him how much a social caste system restricted personal freedomand not #ust freedom of social mobility, but even freedom of thought. 1ne such e$perience involved a hanging, about which he and others present maintained a properly @nglish emotional detachment. "fter the hanging, everyone laughed at a pointless story about the dragging of a different prisoner from his cell to be hanged. %hey laughed in a vain effort to disguise their discomfort, for they had to remain unfa-ed in all eyesparticularly those of the nativesthough they all were deeply disturbed inside.9< "nother (tiny incident,) involving the shooting of an elephant, gave 1rwell (a better glimpse than =he> had before of the real nature of imperialismthe real motives for which despotic governments act.)9F %hose motives were rooted in the desire to maintain the feeling of superiority found in caste distinctionsto not be humiliated in the eyes of the (subhuman) masses. %o help achieve this end, in his own small way, 1rwell shot a supposedly mad elephant for no other reason than that the gathered crowd e$pected him to do sosince he was a powerful, decisive @nglishman who had arrived on the scene prepared with a large loaded rifle. If he failed to then act, (=t>he crowd would laugh at me. "nd my whole life, every white man's life in the @ast, was one long struggle not to be laughed at.)9B %his could not be allowed, so he fired the e$pected shot. Cater he

3eorge 1rwell, " ?anging 5*9F*6, in The &rwell Reader: Fiction, Essays, and Re$ortage by George &rwell, with an introduction by .ichard ?. .overe, 9-*F 52ew Aor , 2A/ ?arcourt, !race and Company, *9HI6, *F.
9<

3eorge 1rwell, +hooting an @lephant 5*9FI6, in The &rwell Reader: Fiction, Essays, and Re$ortage by George &rwell, with an introduction by .ichard ?. .overe, F-9 52ew Aor , 2A/ ?arcourt, !race and Company, *9HI6, B.
9F 9B

1rwell, +hooting an @lephant, J.

<I would (often wonder if any of the =other @uropeans> grasped that I had =shot the elephant> solely to avoid loo ing a fool.)9H "s 1rwell reflected bac upon the unnecessary death of that elephant, he reali-ed that/ =W>hen the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys. ?e becomes a sort of hollow, posing dummy, the conventionali-ed figure of a sahib. 4or it is the condition of his rule that he shall spend his life in trying to impress the (natives,) and so in every crisis he has got to do what the (natives) e$pect of him. ?e wears a mas and his face grows to fit it;. " sahib has got to act li e a sahib.9I %he situation was made even worse, in 1rwell's mind, by the fact that the mas his social status forced him to wear had the potential to (alter the e$pression of the face.)9J "nd thus he would eventually become the despicablesocially enslavedcreature that he was forced to portray. In this way, 1rwell and all other @nglishman were being stripped of their free will. It was only acceptable, and seemingly only possible, for them to behaveand even thin Oin the orthodo$ manner that their social positions re7uired/ It is a stifling, stultifying world in which to live. It is a world in which every word and every thought is censored. In @ngland it is hard even to imagine such an atmosphere. @veryone is free in @nglandN we sell our souls in public and buy them bac in private, among our friends. !ut even friendship can hardly e$ist when every white man is a cog in the wheels of despotism. 4ree speech is unthin able. "ll other inds of freedom are permitted. Aou are free to be a drun ard, an idler, a coward, a bac biter, a fornicatorN but you are not free to thin for yourself. Aour opinion on every sub#ect of any conceivable importance is dictated for you by the pu a sahibs' code. In the end the secrecy of your revolt poisons you li e a secret disease. Aour whole life is a life of lies.9K
9H

1rwell, +hooting an @lephant, 9. 1rwell, +hooting an @lephant, I-J. 1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, <F.

9I

9J

3eorge 1rwell, )urmese 3ays, in The #om$lete or%s of George &rwell, vol. < 5Condon, 8D/ +ec er E Warbug, *9KI6, HB 5paragraph brea s removed6.
9K

<J

%hus, 1rwell's time in !urma, far from being an escape from the class tortures of his youth, was instead a profound tutorial in the universal enslavement that a caste system entails. 4or 1rwell, class distinctions led inevitably to a loss of personal liberty. .eali-ing the oppression felt at all levels in a caste system led 1rwell to resent the system itself. ?e began feeling a inship with, and thus sympathy for, the oppressed masses. 8pon his return to @ngland, 1rwell, for the first time loo ed upon the lower classes with a compassionate interest. ?is attention was drawn to the (unemployment problem) and he was shoc ed by what he found/ (When I first saw unemployed men at close 7uarters, the thing that horrified and ama-ed me was to find that many of them were ashamed of being unemployed.)99 " general attitude had percolated down from the upper class in @ngland, that any persons who couldn't find wor were (la-y idle loafers on the dole.) *:: "s a result, when persons became unemployed/ %hey simply could not understand what was happening to them. %hey had been brought up to wor , and beholdO it seemed as if they were never going to have the chance of wor ing again. In their circumstances it was inevitable that they would be haunted by feelings of degradation. %hat was that attitude towards unemployment in those days/ it was a disaster which happened to you as an individual and for which you were to blame.*:* %he feelings of self-loathing among the unemployed were emotions with which 1rwell could empathi-e. ?e too had come to despise and blame himself during his public school days for his intractable social position. "t school he had been humiliated in

99

1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to

igan !ier, K: 5emphasis in original6. igan !ier, K*. igan !ier, K* 5emphasis in original6.

*::

*:*

<K his vain attempt to play a roleof a gentleman of material substancefor which he was not economically e7uipped. %he humiliation was born as much of his inability to accept the reality of his financial circumstances, as it was of the condescending reactions his presence prompted. ?e saw the unemployed as being prisoners of the same trap. %here was a secrecy attached to poverty, wherein (you dare not admit ityou have got to pretend that you are living 7uite as usual.) %his leads to lives filled with lies, such as (go=ing> out, ostensibly to a restaurant, and =instead> loaf=ing> an hour ; watching pigeons.)*:< 1rwell believed that such (Lrespectable' poverty) was the (worst) of circumstances to be trapped in.*:F !ut respectable poverty was only a transitional phase on the way to total degradation. 1rwell found that (=w>hen people live on the dole for years at a time they grow used to it,) and eventually (though it remains unpleasant, =it> ceases to be shameful.)*:B %hrough this process (the old, independent, wor house-fearing tradition =was> undermined), and instead of (raging against their destiny) the unemployed #ust accepted their fate (by lowering their standards.)*:H In this way, the human spirit was eventually entirely crushed by the weight of the socio-economic system.*:I

3eorge 1rwell, 3own and &ut in !aris and London 5Condon, 8D/ +ec er E Warburg, *9H*6, *J.
*:< *:F

1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to

igan !ier, *<9. igan !ier, K<. igan !ier, K<-KF 5paragraph brea s removed6.

*:B

*:H

%his reali-ation would lead 1rwell to later conclude that (every empty belly is an argument for +ocialism;.) 1rwell, The Road to igan !ier, *BH. !ut, at the time he was first gaining an awareness of the human impact of @ngland's socio-economic system, as will be discussed later, he had not yet settled on socialism as the solution.
*:I

<9 1rwell was also emotionally moved by the conditions of the lower classes who were gainfully employed. ?e found it (humiliating to watch coal-miners wor ing)N for it (raises in you a momentary doubt about your own status as an Lintellectual' and a superior person generally.)*:J ?e reali-ed that it (is only because miners sweat their guts out that superior persons can remain superior;. =">ll of us really owe the comparative decency of our lives to poor drudges underground.)*:K 1rwell's recognition that he stood upon the bac s of the wor ing classthat he helped apply the crushing social pressures under which the masses laboredwas transforming. 8nli e his fellow (gentlemen) who escaped (into stupidity),*:9 to avoid responsibility for the condition of their countrymen, 1rwell felt profound guilt. ?e sought relief by (becoming) one of the common fol first by going (down and out) in &aris and Condon,**: and then by living among coalminers in northern @ngland.*** 1rwell believed that he (could go among these people, see what their lives were li e and feel myself temporarily part of their world.)**< "nd then, once he had (been among them and accepted them,) he would (have touched bottom, andthis is what I felt/ I was aware even then that it was irrationalpart of my guilt would drop from me.)**F
*:J

1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to

igan !ier, B*. igan !ier, B<.

*:K

*:9

1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, FK-F9. +ee generally 1rwell, 3own and &ut in !aris and London. +ee generally part I of 1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to igan !ier, *<9. igan !ier.

**:

***

**<

1rwell, The Road to igan !ier, *<9. 1rwell described his poverty e$perience as being (life on si$ francs a day. %housands of people in &aris live itstruggling artists and students, prostitutes when their luc is out, out-of-wor people of all inds. 1rwell, The Road to igan !ier, *<9.
**F

F: While 1rwell admitted that he only dwelt in the (suburbs, as it were, of poverty)**B during his adventures in the slums, it was an intensely liberating e$perience. It seemingly stripped away the nonsense of life and granted him reprieve from the evils of the caste system/ (=W>hen you are approaching poverty, you ; discover boredom and mean complications and the beginnings of hunger, but you also discover the great redeeming feature of poverty/ the fact that it annihilates the future.) %hus, 1rwell learned (that the less money you have, the less you worry.)**H "s a result, in the (s7ualid ; horribly boring sub-world of the tramp) 1rwell had (a feeling of release ;, which seems absurd ;, but which was sufficiently vivid at the time.)**I 1rwell's time among the (sub-human=s>)**J was revelatory. ?is e$periences among the common people were so personally positive that he embraced an ideal vision of the lower class home as having (a warm, decent, deeply human atmosphere which is not easy to find elsewhere.)**K ?e developed a deep, brotherly affection for these people and a compelling compassion for their struggles. %hey were not really to blame for their condition, for they had been condemned by forces outside their power, #ust as he had
**B

1rwell, 3own and &ut in !aris and London, *9.

1rwell, 3own and &ut in !aris and London, <:. 1rwell went on to e$plain/ (When you have a hundred francs in the world you are liable to the most craven panics. When you have only three francs you are 7uite differentN for three francs will feed you till tomorrow, and you cannot thin further than that. Aou are bored, but you are not afraid. "nd there is another feeling that is a great consolation in poverty. I believe everyone who has been hard up has e$perienced it. It is a feeling of relief, almost of pleasure, at nowing yourself at last genuinely down and out. Aou have tal ed so often of going to the dogsand well, here are the dogs, and you have reached them, and you can stand it. It ta es off a lot of an$iety.) 1rwell, 3own and &ut in !aris and London, <:-<*.
**H **I

1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to

igan !ier, *F*. igan !ier, ***. igan !ier, *:B.

**J

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F* been condemned at public school. %hey were not being #ustly rewarded for their labors, even while (parasites)**9the (mere owners)*<:at the top of the economic ladder grew fat without doing any real wor . %he same social structure that penali-ed 1rwell for not being wealthythough he was smartpenali-ed the masses for being poorthough they often wor ed desperately hard. It was a fundamentally un#ust system that did not give anyone his due. %hus, through his e$periences among the natives of !urma and the lower classes of @ngland, 1rwell came to see the @nglish class structure as a mortal enemy of both #ustice and liberty. "ny reformist political agenda that 1rwell embraced would have to be intent upon the administration of #ustice and the promotion of personal liberty. 1rwell came to believe that socialism could be turned to the service of these ends. ORWELLS SOCIALISM REVISITED: 1rwell's sympathetic #ourneys among the lower classes led him to conclude that ("ll people with small, insecure incomes)whether they be poor laborers or lowerupper-middle class intellectuals(are in the same boat and ought to be fighting on the same side.)*<* !ut he also reali-ed that (unfortunately you do not solve the class problem by ma ing friends with tramps.)*<< %o battle the systemic enemies of #ustice and liberty would re7uire the mass pursuit of a broad political agenda. !ut what political approach would best serve 1rwell's goals was not obvious to him.
**9

1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, FK. 1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, FJ. 1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to igan !ier, *KK. igan !ier, *F<.

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F< "fter returning from !urma, 1rwell had (no interest in +ocialism or any other economic theory.)*<F 4or, it seemed to him, (economic in#ustice) would simply (stop the moment we want it to stop, and no sooner, and if we genuinely want it to stop the method adopted hardly matters.)*<B @ven (=u>p to *9F:), following his stint on the streets of &aris, 1rwell admitted (I did not on the whole loo upon myself as a +ocialist. In fact I had as yet no clearly defined political views.)*<H 1rwell eventually (became pro-+ocialist more out of disgust with the way the poorer section of the industrial wor ers were oppressed and neglected than out of any theoretical admiration for a planned society.) *<I 1rwell's choice to embrace socialism is understandable if one considers four things/ 4irst, during his formative years in public school, he developed a hatred for economic and social elites*<Jthe very groups that most socialists were intent on subverting. %hus, 1rwell chose to at least superficially describe himself as a socialist from a young age.*<K +econd, as an intellectual with neither the family connections nor the financial means necessary to enter the elite realms of @nglish society, he was essentially relegated to the oppositionsocialistpolitical camp/ It should be noted that there is now no intelligentsia that is not in some sense (Ceft);. +ince about *9F: everyone describable as an (intellectual) has lived in
*<F

1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to

igan !ier, *<F. igan !ier, *<F.

*<B

3eorge 1rwell, "ppendi$ </ 1rwell's &reface to the 8 ranian @dition of (nimal Farm, in (nimal Farm: ( Fairy Story, H:th "nniversary @dition, *JF-*K: 52ew Aor , 2A/ ?arcourt, !race E Company, *99H6, *JI.
*<H *<I

1rwell, &reface to the 8 ranian @dition of (nimal Farm, *JI-*JJ. +ee 1rwell, The Road to +ee 1rwell, The Road to igan !ier, **9-*<:. igan !ier, *<F.

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*<K

FF a state of chronic discontent with the e$isting order. 2ecessarily so, because society as it was constituted had no room for him. In an @mpire that was simply stagnant, neither being developed nor falling to pieces, and in an @ngland ruled by people, whose chief asset was their stupidity, to be (clever) was to be suspect;. %he intellectuals could find a function for themselves only in the literary reviews and the left-wing political parties.*<9 %hird, to obtain the freedom of conscience that he discovered to be lac ing in @nglish society while in !urma, and to battle the in#ustices of economic slavery which he confronted while among the poor masses, 1rwell reali-ed that the @nglish caste system had to be cast down. ?is political goalsat least so far as he sought the end of class distinctionswere also advocated by socialists. "nd fourth, 1rwell's affection for the noble savages of the under classes made him wish to absolve them of blame for the circumstances they endured. %his attracted him to a world-view that held personal conditions to be a function of systemic 5economic6 conditionsand socialism was #ust such a world-view. +uch a blamealleviating ideology would allow himas a former snobto also escape responsibility for the conditions of the oppressed massesN and it would even allow him to blame his personal inade7uaciesso painfully e$posed in public schoolon e$ternal factors. !ut, though he may have found some of the above features of socialist theory attractive 5while, as has been discussed earlier, apparently dismissing its incompatibilities6, he found most socialists decidedly unattractive. During his adventurous travels among people of other classes, 1rwell came to understand (the fact that has got to be faced is that to abolish class-distinctions means abolishing a part of yourself.)*F: !ut, he believed, far too many so-called socialists were
*<9

1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, BI-BJ. 1rwell, The Road to igan !ier, *FJ.

*F:

FB unable, or unwilling, to give up their places in society. +ocialism was #ust an intellectual e$ercise for themnot a heart-changing commitment. 1rwell found it difficult to believe that (the intellectual, tract-writing type of +ocialist, with his pullover, his fu--y hair, and his Mar$ian 7uotation) really cared about the wor ing class, (from whom he is of all people the furthest removed.)*F* 1rwell snidely described what he saw as the typical attitude of the socialist intelligentsia/ Comrade Q, ; ready to die on the barricades, ; still leaves his bottom waistcoat button undone. ?e ideali-es the proletariat but it is remar able how little his habits resemble theirs;. It can only be because in his heart he feels that proletarian manners are disgusting. +o you see he is still responding to the training of his childhood, when he was taught to hate, fear, and despise the wor ing class.*F< It was such a common thingto intellectually support socialist principles without ta ing them to heartthat 1rwell even found the attitude among the lower class. 1ne e$ample was a tramp named 4ure$, whom 1rwell new in &aris, who (was a Communist when sober) but who became (after four or five liters) of alcohol (a rampant chauvinist, denouncing spies, =and> challenging all foreigners to a fight.)*FF !ut, even without the influence of alcohol, 1rwell argued, it was (the inevitable fate of the sentimentalist) to have (=a>ll his opinions change into their opposites at the first brush of reality), for the (same strea of soggy half bac ed insincerity runs through all Ladvanced' opinion.)*FB %his was in fact the single most distasteful characteristic of

*F*

1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to

igan !ier, *H*. igan !ier, **K-**9.

*F<

*FF

1rwell, 3own and &ut in !aris and London, 9F-9B. 1rwell, The Road to igan !ier, *FH 5paragraph brea s removed6.

*FB

FH the socialist intellectuals who 1rwell newtheir insincerity. 1rwell's disgust with (phonies) was severe enough to rival the neurosis of ?olden Caulfield.*FH In addition to disparaging socialists for their insincerity, 1rwell #udged them to be a dreadful collection of weirdoeswho had little or nothing in common with the wor ing class. 1rwell claimed that/ %he typical socialist is not ; a ferocious-loo ing wor ing man;. ?e is either a youthful snob-!olshevi ; or, still more typically, a prim little man with a whitecollar #ob, usually a secret teetotaler and often with vegetarian leanings, with a history of 2onconformity behind him, and above all, with a social position which he has no intention of forfeiting.)*FI 1rwell also complained that the words (L+ocialism' and LCommunism') attracted (with magnetic force every fruit-#uice drin er, nudist, sandal-wearer, se$-maniacs, Rua er, L2ature Cure' 7uac , pacifist and feminist in @ngland.)*FJ "nd, in another passage he added (vegetarians with wilting beards, ; !olshevi commissars 5half gangster, half gramophone6, ; earnest ladies in sandals, shoc -headed Mar$ists chewing polysyllables, escaped Rua ers, birth-control fanatics and Cabour &arty bac stairs-crawlers)*FK to his unflattering list of socialist sympathi-ers.

J.D. +alinger, The #atcher in the Rye 5!oston, M"/ Cittle, !rown and Company, *9H*6. In the opposite vein, 1rwell had great admiration for persons he thought sincereeven when he disagreed with their politics. 4or e$ample, when writing of 3handi, whom he seemingly despised, 1rwell concluded that (compared with the other leading political figures of our time, how clean a smell he has managed to leave behindO) 3eorge 1rwell, .eflections on 3handi 5*9B96, in The &rwell Reader: Fiction, Essays, and Re$ortage by George &rwell , with an introduction by .ichard ?. .overe, F<K-FFH 52ew Aor , 2A/ ?arcourt, !race and Company, *9HI6, FFH.
*FH *FI

1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to

igan !ier, *BI-*BJ. igan !ier, *BJ. igan !ier, *J9-*K:.

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FI In reciting such descriptions, 1rwell seemed more li e a conservative, or even a reactionary, than a reformer. It was his assumed moral superiority that allowed him to write of his fellow socialists with such disdain, while still embracing socialism 5or at least his brand of socialism6. %he other socialists were but silly fa es. While, in contrast, he had paid the pricetramping with tramps, among other thingsto become familiar with, and even affectionate towards, the down-trodden masses whose needs and desires he claimed to represent and serve. %he other so-called socialists had made no similar sacrifices nor learned the same lessons.*F9 %hus they were un7ualified to spea for the socialist movement, to define its goals, or to set its agenda. !ut, the fact that they nonetheless attempted to do these things e$plained to 1rwell why (+ocialism, at least in this island, does not smell any longer of revolution and the overthrow of tyrantsN it smells of cran ishness, machine worship and the stupid cult of .ussia.)*B: %o overcome such misguided leadership, 1rwell believed that one factor would be critical. +ocialists would have to recogni-e that the heart of the problemthe reason why @ngland had not accepted 1rwell's enlightened socialismwas the inability of (socialist) elites to embrace the dirty, simple-minded masses as 1rwell had done. %his was then reflected in the inability of those masses to embrace the orthodo$ socialism that
1rwell believed that a lac of familiarity with the lives of the lower classes rendered typical socialist intellectuals utterly incapable of understanding and appreciating the good that was to be found in wor ing class homes. "s a result, rather than see ing to preserve and even e$alt the (warm, decent, deeply human atmosphere) 51rwell, The Road to igan !ier, *:B6 that was to be found there, they wished to annihilate it and replace it with a sterile, organi-ed, mechani-edand deeply misguidedutopia. +adly, in such an ideali-ed society, because (there is no manual labour and everyone is Leducated' it is hardly li ely that 4ather will still be a rough man with enlarged hands who li es to sit in shirt-sleeves.) "dditionally, (there won't be a coal fire in the grate, only some ind of invisible heater. %he furniture will be made of rubber, glass and steel.) +uch a future, devoid of the best elements of the human condition was not, for 1rwell, the least bit desirable. 1rwell, The Road to igan !ier, *:H.
*F9 *B:

1rwell, The Road to

igan !ier, *K:.

FJ the distant and detached intelligentsia put forward. If these obstaclesof class incompatibilitycould be overcome, then his version of socialism could prevail. 1rwell's surprising solution to this difficulty was to not attempt any radical homogeni-ation of the classes and their interests, but rather to temporarily discount all class distinctions. 1rwell reasoned that while (=u>ltimately) the elites would (have to drop =their> snobbishness,) it was a practical impossibility for them (to pretend to drop it) before they were (really ready to do so.)*B* ?e believed that the most important thing was for the (different classes =to> be persuaded to act together without, for the moment, being as ed to drop their class-differences.)*B< !y simply focusing on their common enemiesthe in#ustices and restrictions found in the @nglish caste systemvery different persons could actively cooperate toward the shared goal of instituting a socialist state. %heir differences were unimportant and even damning in the critical moment, and could all be wor ed out at a later time/ 1nce again, here am I, with my middle-class origins and my income of about three pounds a wee from all sources. 4or what I am worth it would be better to get me in on the +ocialist side than to turn me into a 4ascist. !ut if you are constantly bullying me about my (bourgeois ideology,) =or> if you give me to understand that in some subtle way I am an inferior person because I have never wor ed with my hands, you will only succeed in antagoni-ing me. 4or you are telling me either that I am inherently useless or that I ought to alter myself in some way that is beyond my power. I cannot proletarianise my accent or certain of my tastes and beliefs, and I would not if I could.*BF 1rwell's willingness to allow cultural distinctions to remain alive in a socialist state helps e$plain how his socialist vision could, without contradiction or conflict, include

*B*

1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to 1rwell, The Road to

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FK (reverence for the Christian moral code,) (#udge=s> in ridiculous horsehair wigs,) and even the Monarchy. *BB Despite the acceptance of such (unsocialist) variations of attitude and conduct, 1rwell was convinced that the proper ends of socialism#ustice and libertycould still be achieved by a strategically designed propaganda campaign which de-emphasi-ed Mar$ist theory and promoted practical solutions/ =W>e need intelligent propaganda. Cess about (class consciousness,) (e$propriation of the e$propriators,) (bourgeois ideology,) and (proletarian solidarity,) not to mention the sacred sisters, thesis, antithesis and synthesisN and more about #ustice, liberty and the plight of the unemployed.*BH 8nder such an influence, both elites and commoners could learn of the (true) goals of socialism, accept them, and unitedly pursue them. In this way the entire socialist movement could be bent to match 1rwell's vision, rather than 1rwell bending to match the vision of Mar$. CONCLUSION: While it is understandable why 1rwell would choose to label his political philosophy as (socialist,) since he was so fundamentally concerned with tearing down the class structure of @nglish society, that choice was perhaps a poor one. 1rwell himself recogni-ed that he disagreed with most (orthodo$ socialists) about what the primary aims of their ideology should be. While most socialists framed their political pursuits in terms of economic restructuring, 1rwell saw such maneuvers as but means to obtain the ultimately desirable ends of #ustice and liberty. %his distinction left a great rift between

*BB

1rwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, ***-**F 5paragraph brea s removed6. 1rwell, The Road to igan !ier, *9:.

*BH

F9 1rwell and other socialists, since they were willing to sacrifice freedom to achieve utopian conformity while he was willing to sacrifice conformity to obtain freedom. 1rwell refused to compromise his ideals simply to fit in with his fellow socialists. ?e believed that his views had been forged out of a more sincere desire to serve the downtrodden massesthan that which motivated the typical socialist intellectuals. "nd he was convinced that this made him a more authoritative source than all the hypocritical socialist intelligentsia for what (socialism) should really mean. %he political writings of 1rwell were thus rather 7ui$otic attempts to convince his fellow socialists that he had socialism all figured outwhile they had it all wrong. %he fact that his literary battle did not seem to produce a swelling sea of 1rwellian-socialists converts did not deter him from the rightness of his cause. In reflecting on his own socialism, 1rwell was li e the sentimental military mother, who while watching her son march in a parade formation e$claimed/ (Coo , they're all out of step e$cept JimO) %o continue to call 1rwell a socialist, at least in the conventional sense, is thus difficult to #ustify. ?e too often re#ected orthodo$ socialism and orthodo$ socialists to claim any real allegiance with them. "nd they certainly had greater historical claim to the title of (socialist) than did he. I am forced to conclude that 1rwell was not a (socialist,) in the traditional sense. !ut we may still #ustifiably associate the term with him if we are willing to always hyphenate it in his case, to habitually describe him as an (ethical-socialist.) +uch a conclusion then forces me to re-evaluate my own political labeling, and choose a better descriptor than (Democrat.) &erhaps I shall now choose to call myself;. a (compassionate conservative.) 1ops, I guess that title is already ta en too;.

B: W1.D+ CI%@D

Clutton-!roc , "rthur. *9FF. The !hiloso$hy of Socialism, 4abian %ract 2o. *K:. Condon, 8D/ %he 4abian +ociety. Cole, 3.D.?. *9FH. The Sim$le #ase for Socialism. Condon, 8D/ Gictor 3ollanc- Ctd.. SSSSSSSSSSSS. *9F<. Socialism for Englishmen: Some Essentials of Socialist !ro$aganda. Condon, 8D/ %he 4abian +ociety. Cric , !ernard. *9KK. 1rwell and +ocialism, in George &rwell: ( Reassessment, ed. &eter !uitenhuis and Ira !. 2adel, F-*9. Condon, 8D/ Macmillan &ress. Dell, .obert. *9<<. Socialism and !ersonal Liberty. 2ew Aor , 2A/ %homas +elt-er. 3ould, 3erald. *9<:. The #oming Re2olution. Condon, 8D/ W. Collins +ons E Co., Ctd. ?ill7uist, Morris. *9<:. !resent-day Socialism. 2ew Aor , 2A/ %he .and +chool of +ocial +cience. ?os ing, 3ordon. *9<I. ( Summary of Socialism. Condon, 8D/ %he Cabour &ublishing Co. Cas i, ?arold J. *9<H. Socialism and Freedom, 4abian %ract 2o. <*I. Condon, 8D/ %he 4abian +ociety. 1rwell, 3eorge. *99H. (nimal Farm: ( Fairy Story 5*9BH6, H:th "nniversary @dition. 2ew Aor , 2A/ ?arcourt, !race E Company. SSSSSSSSSSSS. *99H. "ppendi$ </ 1rwell's &reface to the 8 ranian @dition of (nimal Farm 5*9BJ6, in (nimal Farm: ( Fairy Story, H:th "nniversary @dition, *JF-*K:. 2ew Aor , 2A/ ?arcourt, !race E Company. SSSSSSSSSSSS. *9KI. )urmese 3ays 5*9FB6, in The #om$lete vol. <. Condon, 8D/ +ec er E Warbug. or%s of George &rwell, or%s of George

SSSSSSSSSSSS. *9KI. "omage to #atalonia 5*9FK6, in The #om$lete &rwell, vol. I. Condon, 8D/ +ec er E Warbug. SSSSSSSSSSSS. *9I*. The Road to Medallion.

igan !ier 5*9FJ6. 2ew Aor , 2A/ !er ley

B* SSSSSSSSSSSS. *9HI. " ?anging 5*9F*6, in The &rwell Reader: Fiction, Essays, and Re$ortage by George &rwell, with an introduction by .ichard ?. .overe, 9-*F. 2ew Aor , 2A/ ?arcourt, !race and Company. SSSSSSSSSSSS. *9HI. .eflections on 3handi 5*9B96, in The &rwell Reader: Fiction, Essays, and Re$ortage by George &rwell, with an introduction by .ichard ?. .overe, F<K-FFH. 2ew Aor , 2A/ ?arcourt, !race and Company. SSSSSSSSSSSS. *9HI. +hooting an @lephant 5*9FI6, in The &rwell Reader: Fiction, Essays, and Re$ortage by George &rwell, with an introduction by .ichard ?. .overe, F-9. 2ew Aor , 2A/ ?arcourt, !race and Company. SSSSSSSSSSSS. *9HI. +uch, +uch Were the Joys;5*9H<6, in The &rwell Reader: Fiction, Essays, and Re$ortage by George &rwell, with an introduction by .ichard ?. .overe, B*9-BHI. 2ew Aor , 2A/ ?arcourt, !race and Company. SSSSSSSSSSSS. *9H*. 3own and &ut in !aris and London 5*9FF6. Condon, 8D/ +ec er E Warburg. SSSSSSSSSSSS. *9B9. Nineteen Eighty-Four. 2ew Aor , 2A/ ?arcourt, !race and Company. SSSSSSSSSSSS. *9B*. The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius. Condon, 8D/ +ec er E Warburg. Independent Cabour &arty. *9FJ. Through #lass Struggle to Socialism: Resolutions (do$ted at (nnual #onference, Easter, -./0. Condon, 8D/ Independent Cabour &arty. Mar$, Darl and 4rederic @ngels. *99K. The #ommunist 1anifesto: ( 1odern Edition, with an introduction by @ric ?obsbawn. 2ew Aor , 2A/ Gerso. .ousseau, Jean-Jac7ues. *9KJ. &n the Social #ontract, in The )asic !olitical ritings, trans. and ed. Donald ". Cress, with and introduction by &eter 3ay, *B*-<<J. Indianapolis, I2/ ?ac ett &ublishing Company. +alinger, J.D. *9H*. The #atcher in the Rye. !oston, M"/ Cittle, !rown and Company. +haara, Michael. *9JB. The 'iller (ngels. 2ew Aor , 2A/ .andom ?ouse, *9JB. +trachey, John . *9B:. ( !rogramme for !rogress, Ceft !oo Club @dition. Condon, 8D/ Gictor 3ollanc- Ctd. Webb, +idney and !eatrice Webb. *9<:. ( #onstitution for the Socialist #ommon ealth of Great )ritain. Condon, 8D/ Congmans, 3reen, and Co.

B<

WAS ORWELL REALLY A SOCIALIST?

PREPARED BY

VINCENT JAMES STRICKLER

FOR

NORM JACOBSONS POLITICAL THEORY AND LITERATURE POLITICAL SCIENCE 255J STANFORD UNIVERSITY SPRING QUARTER 200