The Novel 1984 by George Orwell

The novel 1984 by George Orwell depicts a dystopian society, Oceania, where the totalitarian government has full control over its citizens through government propaganda. "WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH." These three slogans of the Party are examples of government propaganda and are repeatedly emphasized throughout the book. Each of these three slogans, which appears to be paradoxical and contradictory at first glance, contains a high degree of truth and a deeper meaning that clearly shows the government's intention to control its citizens throughout the book.

The first paradoxical slogan of the Party, which is "WAR IS PEACE", can be accepted as truth in the book because, first of all, the continuous war in Oceania has little destructive impact on its citizens. As the fighting, which "involves very small numbers of people" and "causes comparatively few casualties", always "takes place on the vague frontier or round the Floating Fortresses which guard strategic spots on the sea lanes" (190), whether or not there is a war going on with other superstates makes no difference to people who live in the centers of the civilization. Common Oceanian citizens, like Winston and Julia, continue to work, eat, sleep and even continue to play games at Community Center as if there was no fighting happening in the country. Their normal and peaceful lives are not disturbed by the ongoing war. Therefore, for those people, war means nothing; war is peace.

Another explanation for "WAR IS PEACE" is that the perpetual war with other superstates keeps the masses of Oceania in poverty so that human inequality will always exist and the Party will never be overthrown. According to Emmanuel Goldstein, the use of machine on the nineteenth century had greatly raised the living standards of the average human being, and "if the machine were used deliberately for that end, hunger, overwork, dirt, illiteracy, and disease could be eliminated within a few generation" (194). However, for the Party, which wants to maintain its highest position in the hierarchical society, the disappearance of human inequality and the even distribution of wealth are potentially destructive and dangerous rather than desirable. As leisure and security make "the great mass of human beings who are normally stupefied by poverty become literate and learn to think themselves", people will "sooner or later realize that the privileged minority has no function and sweep it away" (194). Therefore, in order to remain its power, the Party has to keep the masses in poverty by restricting the product distribution. The war is a way to destroy the extra products that will otherwise make people rich, comfortable, and, in long run, intelligent. In other words, the continuous war between three superstates prevents the possible rebellion against the Party and helps