I’ve just finished George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four, a dystopian vision of a totalitarian society. There are many connections that could be developed between Orwell’s portrayal and contemporary politics. I was struck however by the central role the language “Newspeak” plays in the story. We’re all familiar with the deceptive reversals of meanings employed by oppressive regimes, as in the democracy of the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”. However, more insidious than straightforward deception is the subversion of thought itself. Continue reading Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four and Hate Speech