Orwell’s Rare Happy Ending

By |2023-05-01T16:14:08-05:00May 1st, 2023|Categories: George Orwell, Literature|

George Orwell’s novels are not exactly where you turn when you are looking for uplifting reading with happy endings. The one lesser known exception is his short, bright novel, “Keep the Aspidistra Flying.” I would go as far as to call it charming and delightful. Most people, when asked if they’re familiar with the works [...]

The Socialist Patriot: George Orwell and War

By |2023-04-25T14:52:16-05:00April 25th, 2023|Categories: Books, Conservatism, George Orwell, World War I, World War II|

Does the "socialist-patriot" George Orwell offer a model for us today? Specifically for the young—of left or right—for whom Peter Stansky's book is likely meant to serve as an introduction of sorts? The Socialist Patriot: George Orwell and War by Peter Stansky (130 pages, Stanford University Press, 2023) Less a brief biography than a lengthy [...]

George Orwell: Forgotten Prophet

By |2023-03-26T20:38:56-05:00March 26th, 2023|Categories: Culture, Dystopia, George Orwell, Joseph Pearce, Literature, Timeless Essays, Western Civilization|

George Orwell’s "1984" was so successful and so influential that he was seen as something of a prophet. This dystopian novel was considered a cautionary prophecy of what would come to pass if future generations ceased to be vigilant in the guarding of their freedom. Someone to claim us, someone to follow Someone to shame [...]

George Orwell on Charles Dickens and Revolutions

By |2021-07-14T21:19:35-05:00July 14th, 2021|Categories: American Republic, American Revolution, Charles Dickens, George Orwell|

George Orwell was initially tempted to dismiss Charles Dickens because he seemed to have “no political program” to offer. But soon Orwell recognized this presumed defect to be a virtue and decided that Dickens was a moralist, not a revolutionary. Having recently celebrated the anniversary of our revolution of 1776, let’s remember the kind of [...]

George Orwell On Populism, Patriotism, & Veiled Censorship

By |2021-01-26T13:58:06-06:00January 31st, 2021|Categories: George Orwell, Patriotism, Politics, Populism|

Christians can respect George Orwell even if we cannot fully claim him. But “woke” progressives have no logical choice but to repudiate the secular liberal icon altogether for his skepticism toward egalitarianism, globalism, and political correctness. However he may feel about it, no honest and perceptive person will deny that the Overton window of acceptable [...]

Arguing With George Orwell

By |2020-08-17T00:43:49-05:00June 4th, 2020|Categories: George Orwell, Joseph Pearce, Literature, Nationalism, Patriotism, Politics, Senior Contributors|

A nationalist, as defined by George Orwell, seeks to acquire more power and prestige for any “other unit,” apart from the nation, in which he has chosen to sink his identity. According to this definition of nationalism, almost every politician of whatever ideological ilk, is a “nationalist,” even those who despise their own nation. As [...]

University Administration and the English Language

By |2020-05-06T09:14:17-05:00May 6th, 2020|Categories: Culture, Education, George Orwell, Language, Modernity|

Learning and language are intimately related. People speak well—clearly, concretely, and accurately—about the things they know, and poorly when they pontificate about things they don’t. Broadly-educated people speak well about many things; they are dilettantes rather than pedants, the two kinds of intellectual according to Miguel de Unamuno. Primo Levi, a professional chemist as well [...]

Big Brother’s Birthday: Orwell’s “1984” at 70

By |2019-06-14T12:34:02-05:00June 7th, 2019|Categories: Books, Culture, George Orwell, Glenn Arbery, Literature, Wyoming Catholic College|

Big Brother needs to subordinate history—that is, what actually happened—to the political desire of the moment, so much so that we no longer even expect objective news; in fact, we doubt the very possibility of it. When George Orwell’s 1984 first appeared in print seventy years ago, no one could have predicted its enormous influence. It gave [...]

Three Dangerous Philosophical Novels

By |2021-04-29T15:49:49-05:00October 2nd, 2018|Categories: Aldous Huxley, Ayn Rand, Books, C.S. Lewis, Featured, George Orwell, Literature, Philosophy, Walker Percy|

In a culture in which algorithms control the content we consume—what movies to watch, what goods to buy, what news to listen to—the choice to read a book whose philosophy opposes our own and questions our sacred assumptions is nothing short of revolutionary. “I choose novels that let me turn my brain off,” a student [...]

Definitions and Their Discontents

By |2020-10-03T20:26:55-05:00October 24th, 2017|Categories: Christianity, George Orwell, History, Language, Mark Malvasi, Truth|

Words are not static. They are dynamic. Like the birth of a child, there remains always something mysterious, even miraculous, about the birth of a thought and about the words we use to bring that thought into being. Perhaps Johnny Mercer has already and long ago settled the gentlemanly epistemological debate that has emerged between [...]

Diversity and Doublethink

By |2017-10-18T20:42:36-05:00October 18th, 2017|Categories: Culture, Education, George Orwell, Joseph Pearce, Politics|

The modern university’s idea of “diversity” excludes all dissident opinions to the one accepted definition of “diversity” which it “values”… We live in strange and ominous times in which coherence and cohesiveness have been replaced by newspeak and doublethink. As readers of George Orwell’s 1984 will know, newspeak is the corruption of language, and therefore [...]

Nationalism and Patriotism

By |2017-10-09T10:40:58-05:00October 8th, 2017|Categories: Culture, George Orwell, Joseph Pearce, Nationalism|

We should see the nations of the world as distinct and beautiful flowers in the garden of culture. It is the love of this uniqueness of each nation which should inspire all lovers of national integrity to fight against the globalized monoculture that the globalist Imperium wishes to impose… In his essay “Towards Patriotism: An [...]

Toward Patriotism: An Alternative to Nationalism

By |2020-05-19T15:19:18-05:00September 24th, 2017|Categories: Culture, Europe, George Orwell, History, Joseph Pearce, Mark Malvasi, Nationalism, Patriotism|

Nationalism has not brought and will not bring unity, if for no other reason than nationalism insists on uniformity and must always exclude those who do not conform. Yet, if there is a chance to achieve some measure of unity, patriotism might enable it. In his thoughtful response to my essay, “History as Tragedy and [...]

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