1984 By George Orwell: Chapter Analysis

INTRODUCTION: PART ONE
Prequel
We all live somewhere. Call us citizens, inhabitants, natives, subjects, peasants, peons. We have several things in common. We live in a country. Each country has rulers. They make decisions that affect all of us. Unfortunately, they do not always act in our best interests. Why is this?
I believe their actions are based on the following selfish motivation:
It’s not, what’s best.
It’s, what’s best for me.
Thus, they always want more power, more wealth, more prestige. As a result of their self-centered actions, things happen to us that we don’t like. But, we have no real way to resist their authority. It doesn’t matter what political system we live under: democracy or dictatorship. It doesn’t make a difference

Even after enormous upheavals and seemingly irreversible changes, the same pattern has always asserted itself, just as a gyroscope will always return to equilibrium… —George Orwell, 1984 No citizen wants to believe that his or her country engages in behavior that is willfully negligent and/or cruel and not in the best interests of its citizenry. Unfortunately, the chapters in this book illustrate that this is indeed the case. Throughout history our leaders have engaged in behavior detrimental to citizens both domestic and foreign. This book reveals such behavior and explains why events happen. I wish there were different explanations to very jarring revelations and conclusions. All the inhabitants of the world have played a role throughout history. All have been affected by a government of some sort. Most have not fared well. Overpowering governmental and military forces have inflicted harm and made them endure many cruel hardships including horrendous deaths. My book discusses some of their travails and explains why they happen. It looks at the historical records. Hopefully, I have correctly “connected the dots” from my observations and offered some revealing conclusions. The observations are rather jarring, but I think they can help explain today’s current events and some rather disturbing

I almost “dropped my plate” when I read that the new pope supports a totally bizarre challenge to the world’s reality—and my profits! My associates and I vehemently disagree with the following:
“As long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world’s problems or, for that matter, to any problems…Just as the commandment ‘Thou shall not kill’ sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say ‘thou shalt not’ to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills.” Reported by Paul Brandeis Raushenbush (Don't Call Us Marxist Because We Critique Capitalism -- Call Us Christian, 2013). Another do-gooder wrote a stinging challenge to my right to profit:
“The profit motive, when it is the sole basis of an economic system, encourages a cutthroat competition and selfish ambition that inspires men to be more concerned about making a living than making a life.”  Rev. Martin Luther King (Braxton, 2011) Commentary: What Would King