Commenter Bemused Location Sydney Date and time April 20, 2012, 1:39PM When Orwell wrote "1984", he couldn't imagine the excesses of the type of unregulated Capitalism brought in by Reagan/Thatcher, and the resulting orgy of corporate greed it unleashed. The result is the greatest Capitalist nation in the world suffering from the effects of a crippling debt, and the nations of Europe struggling to stay solvent. The socialist experiment also brought extremists to the fore, however also ushered in a fairer and more caring society in many countries, compared to the blatant greed of the Capitalist system, which now must be dubbed a failure in every sense. Commenter cruiseabout Location Broadbeach Date and time April 20, 2012, 4:19PM Bemused is a victim of the massive ignorance about Orwell that has prevailed ever since his death in 1950. Orwell was a Socialist and he was attacking Stalinism from the Left. He went to Spain in 1936 and discovered, to his surprise, that not only was there a civil war going on (which everyone knew), but there was also a revolution. The so-called "Communist" Party was actively involved in surpressing this revolution and preserving capitalism. The peasants had seized the land and the workers had seized the factories, but the Republican Government, at the behest of the "Communist" Party, were intent on giving them back to the landlords and capitalists, providing they hadn't fled to Franco's side of the conflict. Orwell documented this and eventually had to flee Spain with a price