On a bright summer evening in 2019, I was walking around with my friend after my lawn tennis session. During the walk we were enjoying our intellectual discussion, and I was trying to make a point that Left wing and Right Wing are basically the same, however I was not able to explain to him the logic I used to deduce that. It wasn’t the first time that such a thing happened to me, my prefrontal cortex (thinking part) works way faster than my Broca’s area (speech formation part) and I am often overwhelmed with thoughts that I cannot express. I wish I had read Animal Farm back then, because George Orwell found a creative way to express what I was deducing then which he had deduced seven decades earlier.
George Orwell, the author of Animal Farm was born in Imperial India, he saw the atrocities committed by imperialism and naturally oscillated towards communism. He became a communist sympathizer and fought against General Franco in Spain in a losing cause. He saw the rise of communist state in Russia and other counties, and then he achieved the ultimate realization.
He saw the similar atrocities in fascist, republics, imperialistic and communist regimes and he concluded that it’s really not the system, it’s humans. Humans can corrupt any system is the ultimate truth, which George Orwell understood.
Animal Farm as a book focuses on highlighting the following aspect of human’s animalistic nature:
– Humans when in power will always benefit themselves while pretending to be doing good for all.
– Humans when in power are capable of changing the perceived past.
– Humans when in power rarely walk the talk.
– Fear is the great uniter.
I said humans but the book is actually about animals. George Orwell used animals as simple tool to make some very serious arguments, which I had pointed out.
The story takes place in a Farm in Britain where the Animals realize that while they do all the service and production whether it’s egg or milk or something else, the produce always goes to the owner who apparently does nothing. Hence, they start the revolution, which is successful. Animals kick out the owner and start managing the farm themselves.
Pigs AKA leaders become the brain of the operation while donkeys and horses do the hard work. They form their guidelines or seven commandments such as we won’t drink, we won’t wear clothes, we won’t sleep in bed, no one will kill the other, and the best of them all: Whatever goes on two legs and doesn’t have wings (AKA Human) is an enemy.
Everything is good to begin with, but the nature soon takes its course, when the cow produces excess milk, it disappears and when everyone gets to know that pigs are keeping the milk for themselves, pigs argue that they need milk as nourishment since they are the brain of the operation. They point out that without them in charge and in good health there is a good chance that the Human owner will return. Through this event, the author wants to highlight how humans in power will benefit themselves while pretending to benefit the masses.
The animals had decided that they won’t drink, but the pigs get addicted to fine drinking and when their action contradicts the past commitment, what do they do? They change the perceived past. The pigs convince everyone that the commandment was, to not drink in excess, rather than not drink at all.
When hard work is required, the pigs make moving speeches, but they never do any work themselves. When the same is pointed out, they make a case that their work involve paperwork which may not appear as doing something but as a matter of fact it is quite important however at the end of the day all the paper is burned down in the chimney, hence supporting the argument of the author that humans in power rarely walk the talk.
Whenever the pigs faced protest from the animals for the injustices, they would use fear as tool to subjugate, either fear by intimidation using their pet dogs or fear of the alternate future, like return of the owners, hence supporting the argument of the author that fear is the great uniter.
The best transformation happens when pigs started walking on two feet just like the owners, since one of the commandments was that anyone who walks on two feet is an enemy they had to change the commandment and convince everyone that that’s how it has always been. Those walking on two feet were never enemy but friends.
The pigs when in power transforms into two-legged creatures and the original owners, the humans were also two-legged creatures. Hence there is absolutely no difference between humans in-charge or the animals in-charge. There is absolutely no difference between right wing or left wing. A left-wing society might start as rule by the people but eventually the pigs who will hijack the power would no longer identify with people, hence effectively it won’t be the rule of people but rule of a few like a right-wing society. The animals were worse off under the pigs as compared to under the owners.
Phew, you can understand why I had trouble making my friend follow my logic. At least now, I can use Animal Farm analogy.
We are hardwired to always take simplest explanation, but the truth is never simple. There is no hero to celebrate and villain to curse, we all have a hero and a villain in us and when opportunity comes the villain in us show us the true color. George Orwell died after writing just two books Animal Farm and 1984, however had he lived longer and expanded on his ideas, he would have liked us to do introspection and figure out how we can redeem ourselves rather than redeeming any system. I must assert that he was well ahead of his time, because I see the same phenomena prevailing in today’s world. People in power still use fear to move masses, they still benefit themselves while pretending to be doing good. They talk more and do less. Most importantly there is no separate race of bad humans, whoever gets the power irrespective of their upbringing acts like a pig. Animal Farm was and will always be a mirror to us Humans.
