Kyle Lachmund Response: Orwell Got it Wrong

Though I fundamentally agree with Michael Kinsley’s article “Orwell Got it Wrong,” I also feel that it oversimplifies and mischaracterizes Orwell’s argument in 1984. I do not believe Orwell was contending that new electronic technology such as computers would provide the state with a unique totalitarian tool. Orwell was rather making a statement about how, in the scope of human history, autocratic governments utilize technology to influence and control their citizens. The printing press, radio, and, more recently, the Internet have all been used by various governments to perpetuate complacency and order. By setting his novel in a futuristic context, Orwell effectively illustrates how people who are in positions of power will utilize technology as a means to restrict individual liberty. This does not mean that Orwell believed that technological advancement inherently limited individual freedom, but rather that the State can and often does use technology as a means of control. If Orwell could have seen the development of the Internet, along with components such as Wikipedia and Google which epitomize the Democratization of information, I do not believe he would condemn them as agents of totalitarian oppression. Rather, he would recognize their significance in the advancement of individual liberty, while also pointing out that such technologies can (and have been) used as means to control the people.