2019-08-02 - We Have Always Been At War
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In the book-within-a-book of George Orwell's "1984" - "The
Theories and Practices of Oligarchical Collectivism" by Emmanuel
Goldstein - the supposed author lays bare the essential deceit of
the tripartite superstate system. The three, Oceania, Eurasia and
Eastasia, are constantly at way, always two allied against the
third. These alliances always end with one party betraying its
ally and joining with the former antagonist, hence one of the most
chilling events in the book:
"Oceania was at war with Eastasia: Oceania had always been at war
with Eastasia. A large part of the political literature of five
years was now completely obsolete."
Goldstein's book states the blindingly obvious: the war is not
a war in any traditional sense. None of the three, nor even any
combination, can ever win the war. The three powers, more
importantly, have no discernable differences which would warrant
the conflict.
No, the war is designed to use up resources and to keep the greater
mass of the population in check. From time to time, a rocket might
crash into the population causing deaths, but the war is always far
away, at a remove from the ordinary lives of the inhabitants. Hence
every restriction in life, in thought, in behaviour, is explicable
in terms of the endless war.
People today, on all sides of the political divide, continually
cite 1984 in support of their positions. From omnipresent
surveillance to anti-"SJW" thoughtcrime, to "political correctness"
being Newspeak, the book offers talking points and references to
all parties in the culture war.
Just like the people of Oceania, Eastasia and Eurasia,
concentrating on these elements of the book misses the overall
point. Orwell's interest was in the methods of control and accrual
of power of the elites, that's what he wrote the book about, that
was his obsession for decades, from the Road to Wigan Pier to 1984,
this thread runs through his work.
If we look at our world today, we see a perfect example of the War
Never Ending. Not in Iraq, or Afghanistan. Right here, in our own
countries, no matter where you live.
The War Against Drugs.
As a 1984 Endless War, this war is almost perfect. It uses up vast
resources. It uses up incredible amounts of civic engagement. It
provides a perfect, unerring response to almost any criticism. It
doesn't intersect in any meaningful fashion with most people's
lives, the enemy (drug dealers and users) is so debased by popular
culture as to be unimaginable.
Most importantly, just like the wars of 1984, it serves its most
important purposes with admirable consistency: To ensure that the
forces who perpetuate the war are the ones who benefit the most
from it. To be impossible to "win".
The forces who carry out the War on Drugs have not one single iota
of interest in ever winning the war. Were all the drugs in the
world to magically disappear in the morning, then who would need to
pay countless thousands of police to investigate the drugs? If the
war was "won", then who would inhabit the prisons built to
accomodate the dehumanised people who ultimately are the victims of
the war? If there were no drug gangs, no MS-13, no Kinahans or
N'drangheta, then what would be the excuse for continued mass
surveillance, for backdoors in encryption?
Yes, I accept that the War on Terror has some of the features of
the War on Drugs, but, outside some states that shit doesn't really
wash. The War on Drugs, however, is *everywhere*. People shout
about the impositions of the War on Terror, protest the
restrictions in France or Belgium caused by random Islamist
Extremist attacks.
Meanwhile, every state just accepts the continual erosion of rights
and privacy caused by the Warrondrugs. It never ends. It never
will.
It shouldn't need a secret book to show this to us all.
