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Ingsoc As A Totalitarian Ideology In 1984 By George Orwell

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Ingsoc as a totalitarian ideology Introduction George Orwell’s classic 1984 written in the year 1949 tells the story of a dystopian society under a totalitarian regime. The novel is set in Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, which is a province of the super-state called Oceania. The throne of power is epitomized by Big Brother, the quasi-divine cult leader who is at the same time infallible as well as invisible. Orwell in 1984 depicts a dystopia which is riddled by perpetual wars, omnipresent government surveillance, manipulation and historical revisionism. The crux of all dystopian elements in 1984 is the political ideology practiced in Oceania called Ingsoc. Ingsoc is short for English Socialism and is called thus in the language of Oceania, Newspeak. Ingsoc as depicted in the novel is quite contrary to the political ideology of socialism; in fact it is quite the opposite. Ingsoc as propagated by the regime in Oceania is means of exercising totalitarianism and absolute power over the people. This paper attempts to trace the origins of Ingsoc and the impact it had on the lives of the citizens of Oceania. It also attempts to trace the social class system that existed in the society and find its relationship to the ideologies of Ingsoc. Ingsoc Ingsoc ( Newspeak for English Socialism) is the political ideology followed in the super-state of Oceania. The origins of Ingsoc as a political ideology are rather obscure because the Party keeps rewriting the history.

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