The ‘proles’ are the communist-controlled proletariat who are impoverished and have no access to any luxuries enjoyed by the Party members. They have no rights, except those granted by Big Brother and the Party, and their only escape is revolt. But is revolt easy to mount without any weapons or ability to organize under the strict control of 24/7 surveillance?
Having lived for twenty years under such an oppressive regime under the boot of the Communist Party, I know that rebellion is impossible to accomplish, given the fact that the Communist Party controls everything and has a huge standing army at its disposal, security police, financial and economic police, and thousands of paid informers among neighbors and hungry relatives. What chance does the unarmed, sick, cold, underpaid, and hungry proletariat have?
There are so many similarities between the fictious population of Oceania and our current political situation, that I do not have space to compare all of them in a short article.
How many Winston Smiths are there who work for the Ministry of Truth, altering current and historical records to fit the Party’s ideology and daily narrative? How is dissent punished in our current society by the authorities?
The main theme of 1984 is totalitarianism as expressed by an oppressive government/leadership that manipulates the truth and controls every aspect of society and private lives. The severe indoctrination devoid of reality is best exemplified by the phrases, “War is Peace, “Freedom is Slavery,” and “Ignorance is Strength.”
Fear and conformity to the mandated collective are expressed through surveillance and control enabled by 24/7 computer screens and the Thought Police. Such shadowing creates constant fear and uncertainty, raising the levels of cortisol and disease.
Winston’s Party manipulates the truth, using euphemistic language and approved history through Newspeak, shaping reality in a fantasy world. In our current U.S. fantasy world men can menstruate, get pregnant, have babies, and become women on demand just by wearing a dress and declaring themselves women. And the population goes along with their insane fantasy.