Become an Academy of Ideas supporting member and access over 85 videos exclusive to members with more videos added each month.

Learn more at academyof ideas.com slash members.

If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face, forever.

George Orwell's writings have experienced a spike in popularity over the past several decades and for a good reason.

Modern societies are becoming ever more like the dystopia Orwell depicted in his novel, 1984.

Whether it be mass surveillance, the incessant use of propaganda, perpetual war,

the manipulation of language, or the cult of personality surrounding political leaders,

many consider Orwell's novel to be prescient.

While the West remains freer than the dystopian society of 1984,

the trend of more and more power being concentrated in the hands of politicians and bureaucrats

does not bode well for those who favor a free society.

Orwell believed that the totalitarianism he portrayed in his novel was a distinct

possibility for the West, and at times he went as far as to suggest that it may in fact be inevitable.

Almost certainly we are moving into an age of totalitarian dictatorships.

In this video, we will look at the cause of Orwell's pessimism,

focusing on two trends that increase the risk of a totalitarian future,

the movement toward collectivism and the rise of hedonism.

We then contrast Orwell's views with those of another author of dystopian fiction,

Aldous Huxley.

Collectivism is a doctrine central to several ideologies in which the goals of a certain collective,

such as a state, a nation, a socioeconomic class, an ethnic group, or a society, are given precedence

over the goals of individuals. Socialism, communism, nationalism, and fascism are all

...