Eric Arthur Blair, better known as George Orwell, as an English novelist, journalist, essayist and a noted critic. Many of his writings induced awareness of injustice, totalitarianism, and socialism. Among his many great novels are 1984 and Animal Farm. He also wrote non-fiction works like The Road to Wigan Pier, where he details his working class life in the north of England.
Orwell spawned the term Orweillian, which is used to describe totalitarian and authoritarian social practices. It’s sometimes also used to describe people with whom you have remarkably minor disagreements with. He also spawned words that are common in today’s vernacular, like Big Brother and Cold War.
Orwell is easily one of the more prolific and profound authors of the 20th century. His words ring true even now. These are 10 of his quotes that speak volumes about life today in 2015.
1) “In our age there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics.’ All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.”
2) “All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.”
3) “War against a foreign country only happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to profit from it.”
4) “The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world. Lies will pass into history.”
5) “In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
6) “Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.”
7) “In real life it is always the anvil that breaks the hammer…”
8) “The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them.”
9) “Threats to freedom of speech, writing and action, though often trivial in isolation, are cumulative in their effect and, unless checked, lead to a general disrespect for the rights of the citizen.”
10) “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.”
