1984 Plato And Orwell Analysis

Plato’s Republic and Orwell’s 1984 display contradicting societies. In the society presented by Plato, the ideal kingdom was constructed in a way that everyone had everything they needed. People were working in the fields that they specialized in such as in the Greek "organic" view of state; combining the roles of the appetites in the body, the heart, and the head. The government made sure that people were not exposed to evil. On the other hand, Orwell’s society was oppressive and totalitarian where people suffered a great deal. The government prosecuted them for thought crime the government made use of manipulating false information and propaganda to further its power. Comparing the two societies might seem counterintuitive because of the

The two most prominent similarities between the two societies are the system of government and transition of power, and the way both governments make use of propaganda to further their goals. An interesting observation can be made here that despite the fact that the government in Orwell’s society is blatantly and shamelessly oppressive. As opposed to Plato’s benevolent and good-intended government trying to look after its citizens, it is clear that the government in Plato’s proposed utopia would be worse in many ways in comparison than that in Orwell’s novel. This might seem counterintuitive because Plato’s Republic genuinely seems concerned with the good fortune of its citizens while the Party is interested in increasing its power and fulfilling its agenda. However, this can be observed from the fact that, while the Party spreads manipulating misinformation among the masses and keeps them misinformed through propaganda, the Party itself knows that what it is doing is wrong, on some levels. This is not true for the Republic which considers itself to be in the right and thus does not see the wrongs of its ways. Plato’s government in his utopia would be certain of its ways and the steps it takes because it would consider itself to be doing work for the greater good. There is a hope that, because they know that what they are doing is wrong, the wrongs in the Party might be slightly improved. Since the Republic’s Guardians would think of themselves as saviors, there is a very lesser chance, in comparison, that they would stop to think and amend their ways. This supports that the Republic’s government can be considered to be worse than the Party in certain ways when compared with each