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YES - these were books most students read in high school ..... but that was when Education was actually about TEACHING and not Indoctrination. Mark Twain now banned, we read the classics and I was in advanced studies (pilot program in the 1960's), so my Senior year of English was about Ancient Philosophy - the Greeks, the Romans, we were taught how to THINK.
Now they teach Children how to follow and be sheeple - Social Justice or some such babble.
1984 was if course considered Science Fiction and yet -- here we are, living it.
Animal Farm was always about the Marxists/Communists/Socialists ... whatever you choose to call them.
I was fortunate in HS that my Dad had an extensive and diverse library. And I utilized it. I had a serious disagreement with my senior year civics teacher about having to watch a Jane Fonda movie as a class assignment.
He was a UC Berkeley graduate. I fought that assignment tooth and nail. He was going to give me a failing grade for it which meant I would have failed that quarter due to the points he assigned it.
My Dad intervened. I was given an alternative assignment. I had to write basically a thesis on how the US could have win the Vietnam war. One caveat, the strategy had to be of my own design.
And I did it. Using pretty much one book in Dads collection. Nguyen Giap's Peoples War Peoples Army. As much as he hated to do it the teacher gave me an A+ on it.
I had N Vietnam on their knees gasping, bleeding and begging for surrender. Kids these days dont question what they are taught. Reading is not as fundamental as it used to be. They risk punishment for doing so.
It happened to my son in HS. With the teacher he had for Civics (they called it government with him). And parents will actually back the school against their child. They are FAR to busy to take the time to go to bat for their child.
Which is very sad, unforgivable actually, to my mind.
There isn't much dystopian fiction I haven't read.
I've read a bunch. Some favorites that come to mind, A Boy and his Dog, The Stand, Logans Run and Logans World. The latter two I wore out re reading. Theres a bunch of others.
Do you remember the old Laser books? Lots of dystopian stuff there. And I cant leave out an all time favorite, Armageddon 2419 AD.
2 of the 3 were required reading in LAUSD. Only one poster in this thread used the right word "Fascism" - to describe what Orwell fought against, be it from the Left or the Right.
Most college poly sci professors use a 5-graded scale to explain the difference between Radical Left - Left - Center - Right - Radical Right political systems.
If you are the kind of person that cannot HOLD that many grades or shades of meaning in your brain, you might believe there is ONLY a "left vs right" or "red vs blue" or "liberal vs conservative", that is exactly who Kurt Vonnegut was talking about:
" thanks to TV and for the convenience of TV, you can only be one of two kinds of human beings, either a liberal or a conservative."
If your attention span is only ~2 hours, at least watch Natalie Portman in V for Vendetta.
Here is Orwell, writing in 1944 (before he wrote 1984)
exactly how he defined Fascism: (1 page)
I was wondering how many people on this site have read "1984" and "Animal Farm"- the classics by George Orwell that demonstrated the dangers of Marxism/communism and the methods by which they gain power. Additionally "Farenheit 451" by Bradbury showed a culture (like liberalism of today) in which political correctness and the "offended" had resulted in elimination of free speech.
Orwell was once an ardent communist; however, he had his eyes opened after serving as a volunteer for the Marxists in the Spanish Civil War. He did a complete "180" and became one of the biggest enemies of Marxism. Churchill loved his books, which says a lot.
One wonders if libs read "1984", "Animal Farm", and "Farenheit 451" and really thought about the content whether they would still be liberals?
Those books used to be standard fare in highschool literature; I would imagine that liberal teachers try to hide them now, rather than teach them.
I read them all a long time ago. 1984 and Animal Farm were required reading in many schools. I don't know if they still are. I didn't read them in school though but my kids did.
Socialist governments are authoritarian governments. "Socialism" is just the highly deceptive marketing strategy that they use to get themselves into power. And no, socialists are not democratic. Democracy is why they typically feel the need to have a marketing strategy in order to try to convince the people to "trust them".
Once they are able to cast aside the accountability of democratic elections, which ALL socialist parties desperately desire to do, then they are in complete authoritarian control and the terror begins. As far as the promises of utopia, free stuff, "equality" and "social justice," it is all just a manipulative rouse for the rubes.
Socialism, which includes Marxist communism, fascism, American progressivism and conceivably a number of other strains, is at the core inherently about total control. They are totalitarians. And that is really what we should be talking about ANY time the subject of "socialism" comes up - totalitarianism. Because one the wrapper is peeled off and cast aside, that is all that is left.
Err no. Free market(capitalism), communism and socialism are different types of economies. Democracy, republicanism, monarchy and constitutional monarchy are forms of government. Authoritarianism has to do with how tolerant government is of dissenting opinions not how it respects elections. i.e. March in protest and we will arrest, you and send you far away to work camps and death camps!
"How DARE you question the founding fathers!".
i.e. Queen Elizabeth is not elected but she does have some government powers and no one would call great britain authoritarian. President Trump, like all Presidents was elected by the Electoral College and not the people directly but his power to stifle dissent is very limited. In Authoritarian government any person that dares publicly talk about something that the government does not like is jailed or executed....There would be no non government approved news of the current COViD outbreak.
Communism as an economic system that is more likely to form an Authoritarian government because in Communism the government owns all property, controls all distribution as well as the means of production. Write a book the government does not like and well getting it printed and distributed will be impossible. In an capitalist or socialism system it would be possible provided someone can make money from it.
In Free Market economies and socialist economies ownership of property and the means of production(factories ect.) are in private hands. The difference between the two is that in socialism taxes are used to support things that the Free Market can't. i.e. There is no way to make money off of providing healthcare, food or shelter to people who can't afford it. So a pure free market economy wouldn't. Sure you can claim charity but charity can be a part of communism too.
Public education, unemployment, disability, social security, medicare as well as federal backing of homeowner loans, FDIC protection of bank accounts and even FEMA loans are socialist!
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