1984 Foreword "fascistic disposition"

[jbor]

on 2/5/03, Otto wrote:

>> the "dissident Left" never won any power, in becoming
>> "official" like Stalin it looses its "dissident" qualities.
> 
> I think I agree with this, and the examples you give. So, I repeat my
> question. Is Pynchon anti-government? And, if so, what's the alternative?
> Does he pose an alternative?

To me, the real sticking point seems to be that this "dissidence" is fine
and dandy when the government is democratic and liberal, as in the U.S., the
U.K., Western Europe etc, but under totalitarian regimes like Stalin's,
Hitler's, Saddam's etc no such dissidence is possible (or even thinkable, in
Orwell's dystopia). Winston Smith longs for an uprising of the proles, or
invasion and overthrow by Eastasia/Eurasia, which will end Big Brother's
oligarchy, but Orwell seems to imply that these are mere pipe dreams.

But it's a bit more complex than that. O'Brien quizzes Winston and Julia
about whether they are prepared to "give their lives ... commit murder ...
commit acts of sabotage which may cause the deaths of hundreds of innocent
people ... betray your country to foreign powers ... to cheat, to forge, to
blackmail, to corrupt the minds of children ... throw sulphuric acid in a
child's face" and so forth as members of "the Brotherhood". (Part 2, Ch. 8)
Later on in the interrogation suite O'Brien plays back the tape of this
conversation to demonstrate to Winston that these are exactly the same
things that the Party does, to show him that in order to overthrow Big
Brother he was willing to become just like Big Brother.

So, this is the question or aporia posed. In a situation where "dissidence"
is useless, how does one actually go about opposing or changing a
totalitarian regime like Hitler's or Stalin's or Saddam's Iraq - from within
or from outside - without resorting to the same sort of tactics which that
regime uses? Which is more "moral", to leave a cruel and inhuman regime be
or to take up arms to defeat it? I'm not sure that either Orwell or Pynchon
has an adequate answer to that question.

best