PolITiGenomics » Orwell

Ides of March

dd — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:54:26 +0000

During the 30 minutes or so after boarding a plane and when you are free to use approved electronic devices, you can get a little reading done. On my last couple trips I had a stack of somewhat dated Newsweek magazines to pore through. Fortunately, there were several good articles, which I now pass along for your consideration (which I type on my computer during the period I am free to use approved electronic devices with the wireless features disabled). First a couple articles on the topic that has been on everyone’s mind now that the Republicans are no longer “responsible” for the growing debt: Fareed Zakaria’s Defusing the Debt Bomb talks about several concrete measures that can be taken to reduce the debt and The Real Greek Tragedy talks about why it is important to do that. Bringing a dose of reality to the debt issues is We the Problem which talks about why the US Congress will not enact any of the needed changes (he only gets it half right by blaming the people, lobbyists are part of the equation too). Shifting topics to the “partisan gridlock” in Washington DC, Ezra Klein’s Stay Out Of It, Mr. President discusses how the mere act of the President, any President, supporting some legislative agenda tees it up for the opposition party to, well, oppose it. This opposition occurs even when there is not much substantive difference between the two parties’ stances on the issue or when significant proposals of the opposition party have been included in the bill (giving credence to Mr. Klein’s thesis is the fact that Republicans no longer support their proposals from the 1993 health care debate that are in the current bill). The actual distance between Republicans and Democrats on issues is discussed in How the GOP Sees It. Finally, Google’s Orwell Moment discusses their flubbed roll out of Google Buzz and why things like that should concern you. I like the Newsweek article because it actually uses Orwell’s name in an appropriate reference to 1984. Most references to 1984 use terms like “Big Brother” in a pejorative way, e.g., “another example of Big Brother watching you.” But what is most powerful about 1984 is not that people saw the hyper-surveilling, truth-manipulating government as an intrusive presence in their life, but as a comforting one. The vast majority of people saw the government as something that brought benefits (peace and stability) and were more than happy to trade some small, meaningless rights for these benefits. What rights are you willing to trade for the benefits of social networking?

Corporate governance

dd — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:33:31 +0000

There really are not words to describe the Supreme Court’s decision yesterday to undo decades of court decisions and over a century of campaign finance law. Fortunately, some people are trying. You can help too.

Some are trying a bit too hard.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Then again, this is just the first pillar to fall. There are literally no limits to the changes in law, election or otherwise, that this decision makes possible.

Update: Changed “some people” help link to Lessig’s article on The Huffington Post and moved the Change Congress link to the “you can help” link.

Politics and the English Language

dd — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:57:47 +0000

This past weekend, Newsweek posted a good story about one of my favorite authors, George Orwell. The story, entitled Why We Need to Call a Pig a Pig (With Or Without Lipstick), discusses, among other things, his terrific essay on the sloppiness of the English language, Politics and the English Language. If you have not read it, it is well worth your time. I particularly like the last paragraph of the article, as it is a sentiment I have expressed in the past.

Today, [Orwell]‘s name is invoked to describe anything involving surveillance, paranoia or even books about animals. Orwell’s ideas have been bastardized and simplified over time, so that “Big Brother,” the totalitarian, state-run citizen-control mechanism of “1984,” is now the name of a reality-TV show that bears little resemblance to the book, except for the fact that contestants are watched by cameras. “When writers use the word ‘Orwellian,’ you can be pretty sure they’ve read very little of him,” says Packer. Rather than describing surveillance devices, or pig farms, a more accurate application of the adjective would mean something that aspires to the lucidity and integrity of Orwell’s writing. In that case, it would be the highest praise.

The complete works of George Orwell are available at george-orwell.org and you can read his diary published as a blog with a seventy year delay at Orwell Diaries. If you have not read 1984, you should stop whatever you are doing and read it immediately.