Panopticons in Orwell’s 1984

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Amanda Baule

Written by British novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic George Orwell, the
novel Nineteen Eight- Four (often written 1984) was first published in 1949. It
is a dystopian novel that follows in the tradition of Zamyatin’s We,
Wells’ The Time Machine, and Rand’s novella Anthem. In 1984, Orwell
examines the consequences of oligarchy, totalitarianism, and collectivism
through the literary lens of a social dissenter. It is important to understand
that Orwell is not railing against socialism; in fact, he was an ardent
supporter of democratic socialism. The novel 1984 is Orwell’s rebuttal to
World War II and communism as a governmental practice.
The novel 1984 is set in London – 35 years into the future – and at the center
of the novel are London’s society, its political system, and the interplay
between the two. The society in 1984 is dominated by its class differences.
There are the proletariat, the ‘outer party’, and the elite ‘inner party.’ The
proletariat is the lowest, most common class; they are the poor. The ‘outer
party’ is the periphery and is similar to the middle class. Those in the ‘outer
party’ do the work of the political system without having any true notion as to
why. The ‘inner party’ is the elite, ruling class. They know why the political
system functions the way it does and they make all the critical decisions.
The political system of 1984 is a totalitarian collectivist oligarchy, but to
those kept ignorant (the proletariat and the ‘outer party’) it often appears as a
dictatorship with one central figurehead. Totalitarian collectivism means a
political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and
strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life. An oligarchy is a
“form of government in which power effectively rests with a small, elite
segment of society.” Orwell defines the need for the type of government
in 1984 perfectly through the words of Emmanuel Goldstein who serves as
the ultimate nemesis for Orwell’s alternate future. Goldstein writes “… the
only secure basis for oligarchy is collectivism. Wealth and privilege are most
easily defended when they are possessed jointly.” The society’s ‘inner party’
functions as the ruling unit of government; however, it remains practical to
have a face for the government that the proletariat and ‘outer party’ can
identify and rally behind – or fear – whichever the case may be: in 1984, that
face is ‘Big Brother.’
A common manifestation of this control is for the society to develop into a
form of a panopticon. A traditional panopticon, as defined by Jeremy
Benthem, is a prison containing a central watch tower with radiating spokes
or an outer wall containing cells. The term panopticon gave rise to the social
theory of Panopticism, first presented by Michael Foucault, a French
philosopher, in his book, Discipline and Punishment. The citizens of London in
Orwell’s 1984 are living in a virtual prison. At the center of their prison,
acting as the watch tower is ‘Big Brother’. The citizens of London are also
controlled by propaganda and technology.
The propaganda and technology employed by the government in
Orwell’s 1984 is extremely intrusive into the daily lives of the citizens. Every
household in 1984 is required to have a two-way monitor that serves both as a
means of disseminating party announcements and monitoring activities, even
in private homes. Young children join The Spies and later the Youth League.
The Spies is a group reflective of Hitler’s Nazi youth groups. As members of
The Spies, the children are trained and encouraged to report any behavior
that goes against the Party. The continual fear of being watched by the
government or reported by the neighbor’s child (or your own) is often enough
to keep the proletariat and the ‘outer party’ in accordance with Party
regulations.
Orwell’s novel, 1984, is his warning about the injustices that are created by
communistic governments when allowed exist without external controls and
disregard for a majority of its citizens. He is warning society about the
dangers of ignorance and in a quiet way, he refers back to the famous Francis
Bacon quote and proclaiming that “knowledge is power,” an underlying theme
in a lot of dystopian literature.

Resources

List of forms of government. (2015, November 4). Retrieved October 29, 2015,
from http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/List_of_forms_of_government
Orwell, G. (n.d.). IX. In 1984. New York, New York: Penguin Group.