What Orwell Actually Believed

Some quotes from Orwell:

1. “During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.” – This quote is from Orwell’s essay “Looking Back on the Spanish War,” which was published in 1943.
2. “In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” – This quote is often attributed to Orwell, but it’s actually a slightly altered version of the first quote listed above. It’s unclear where the alteration originated.
3. “The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it.” – This quote is from Orwell’s novel “Homage to Catalonia,” which was published in 1938.
4. “The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world. Lies will pass into history.” – This quote is from Orwell’s novel “1984,” which was published in 1949.
5. “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” – This quote is from Orwell’s essay “The Freedom of the Press,” which was published in 1945.
6. “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.” – This quote is from Orwell’s novel “1984.”
7. “Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” – This quote is from Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English Language,” which was published in 1946.
8. “The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.” – This quote is from a speech Orwell gave in 1943, which was later published as an essay called “As I Please” in the Tribune.
9. “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” – This quote is from Orwell’s novel “1984.”
10. “We do not merely destroy our enemies, we change them.” – This quote is from Orwell’s essay “Reflections on Gandhi,” which was published in 1949.