Animal Farm by George Orwell

A Book Review

Wazih likes saying that the dictatorship you like will always usher in the dictatorship you don't like.

That's the story of Animal Farm. The moment Snowball was chased out and no support for him was uttered, it was bound to happen, Animal Farm was set for a dictatorship already. No one could have predicted how terrible it will turn out, but it was glaring that it was headed towards a path where dissent was no longer tolerated.

What fascinated me in this reading was the retelling of history that Squealer and Napoleon implemented. It is fascinating how repeated lies become conventional wisdom.

In all this story, the person I pitied the most was Boxer, and he was the most honest of all. He truly believed what he believed, yet he believed in error. That's a very unlucky life. With his zeal and strength, Boxer could have led another revolution on the farm but yet he was believing that "I will work harder" and "Whatever Napoleon says is true". How tragic. In the end, he was betrayed and killed in the way he hated the most. But what could he do? He was weak and sold out already. Too late for any change. One mistake that Boxer made was refusing to learn to read earlier at the beginning of the revolution. If only he had learned to read, he would have been more empowered.

Dictators always need men like Squealer, without squealer, dictators can never last. It is rare a dictator who makes noise a lot. Those who do often do not last long. The most successful dictators are the ones like Napoleon who make their presence something mystical. From Kim Jun Un to Mugabe, to Hitler to Mussolini, and to the ancient emperors, the mystery was part of their game plan.

I know Animal Farm is fiction, but it actually isn't. It was written as an explanation of the Russian revolution. But even though the understanding of the world that George Orwell cast in that book still holds true. What happened in Animal Farm is what happened in Uganda, in Libya, in Iraq, etc... Understanding George Orwell is understanding how the world really works. It is a powerful book of political thinking. Like I always say, until you understand politics, you will never understand politicians.

Is George Orwell still relevant? It is relevant for all times, especially now where populism is on the rise globally. We must be careful of Utopia. No political system on earth can offer that. Anytime a politician tells you he will change things, that's the best time to think twice.

Lastly, I think that the reason Animal Farm turned out the way it did was because of the structure that already existed. Toppling a former master is not necessarily toppling a system. And sometimes, revolutionary leaders start with the best of intentions, as I believe the Animal Farm revolution started, but the existing system has been put in place specifically to be extractive. It takes a truly extraordinary leader change that, of course, it has been done before. That's one of the finest lessons from the American state. Of course, the American system is imperfect, but at the same time, it is the best one that has balanced the slope so far.

Thank you Senfat for making me read this. I enjoyed it. It's time to try "1984".