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If you've watched the news
or followed politics

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chances are you've heard 
the term Orwellian

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thrown around 
in one context or another.

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But have you ever stopped to think
about what it really means,

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or why it's used so often?

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The term was named 
after British author Eric Blair

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known by his pen name George Orwell.

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Because his most famous work,
the novel "1984,"

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depicts an oppressive society 
under a totalitarian government,

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"Orwellian" is often used simply
to mean authoritarian.

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But using the term in this way

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not only fails to fully 
convey Orwell's message,

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it actually risks doing precisely what 
he tried to warn against.

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Orwell was indeed opposed 
to all forms of tyranny,

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spending much of his life fighting against
anti-democratic forces

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of both the left-wing and the right.

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But he was also deeply concerned
with how such ideologies proliferate.

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And one of his most profound insights

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was the importance that language plays
in shaping our thoughts and opinions.

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The government of "1984"'s Oceania
controls its people's actions and speech

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in some ways that are obvious.

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Their every move and word 
is watched and heard,

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and the threat of what happens 
to those who step out of line

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is always looming overhead.

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Other forms of control are not so obvious.

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The population is inundated 
with a constant barrage of propaganda

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made up of historical facts and statistics
manufactured in the Ministry of Truth.

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The Ministry of Peace is the military.

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Labor camps are called "Joycamps."

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Political prisoners are detained
and tortured in the Ministry of Love.

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This deliberate irony is an example
of doublespeak,

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when words are used not to convey meaning
but to undermine it,

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corrupting the very ideas they refer to.

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The regime's control of language 
goes even further,

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eliminating words from 
the English language

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to create the official 
dialect of Newspeak,

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a crudely limited collection of acronyms
and simple concrete nouns

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lacking any words complex enough
to encourage nuanced or critical thought.

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This has an effect on the psyche
Orwell calls, "Doublethink,"

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a hypnotic state of cognitive dissonance

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in which one is compelled 
to disregard their own perception

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in place of the officially 
dictated version of events,

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leaving the individual 
completely dependent

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on the State's definition 
of reality itself.

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The result is a world

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in which even the privacy of one's 
own thought process is violated,

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where one may be found guilty
of thoughtcrime by talking in their sleep,

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and keeping a diary 
or having a love affair

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equals a subversive act of rebellion.

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This might sound like something that can
only happen in totalitarian regimes,

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but Orwell was warning us about
the potential for this occurring

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even in democratic societies.

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And this is why "authoritarian" alone
does not "Orwellian" make.

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In his essay, 
"Politics and the English Language,"

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he described techniques like using
pretentious words to project authority,

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or making atrocities sound acceptable
by burying them in euphemisms

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and convoluted sentence structures.

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But even more mundane abuses of language
can affect the way we think about things.

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The words you see 
and hear in everyday advertising

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have been crafted to appeal to you
and affect your behavior,

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as have the soundbites and talking points
of political campaigns

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which rarely present the most
nuanced perspective on the issues.

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And the way that we use ready-made phrases
and responses gleaned from media reports

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or copied from the Internet

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makes it easy to get away 
with not thinking too deeply

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or questioning your assumptions.

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So the next time you hear someone
use the word Orwellian,

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pay close attention.

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If they're talking about the deceptive
and manipulative use of language,

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they're on the right track.

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If they're talking about mass surveillance
and intrusive government,

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they're describing something authoritarian
but not necessarily Orwellian.

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And if they use it as an all-purpose word
for any ideas they dislike,

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it's possible their statements 
are more Orwellian

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than whatever it is they're criticizing.

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Words have the power to shape thought.

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Language is the currency of politics,

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forming the basis of society from
the most common, everyday interactions

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to the highest ideals.

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Orwell urged us to protect our language

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because ultimately our ability to think
and communicate clearly

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is what stands between us and a world
where war is peace

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and freedom is slavery.