Thoughtcrime In 1984

Whether addressed through increased domestic surveillance, patriotic re-education, or a so called “War on Terrorism”, governing authorities have obsessed over preventing crimes and atrocities before they occur. Ever since 9/11, American governments especially, have toyed with this concept through the implementation of policies like the Patriot Act and otherwise. Although, this tradeoff between security and freedom has instilled a growing fear of authoritarianism represented by the works of both George Orwell and Philip K. Dick. In the world of 1984, the concept of actual crime is discarded in favor of punishing the very thoughts that hint at dissent, or “Thoughtcrime” (Orwell 24). And similarly, in the world of The Minority Report, authorities

Dick reflects this meaning change through the character of Lisa. As Former Commissioner Anderton details disdain for a system which “can survive only by imprisoning innocent people”, Lisa threatens his life arguing that the needs of the system outweigh the needs of the individual (Dick 13). At that moment, Lisa perceived any action not in line with the state, as a crime against the state, ignoring any merit a dissenter might have. In the same way, Thoughtcrime within 1984 homogenizes all opinions of the non-conformist into one “essential crime” as described by Winston (Orwell 24). Within Orwell’s work, even the act of writing down objectionable phrases (which carry no immoral features whatsoever) still guarantee the eventual death of the protagonist due to the cruelties of a system where thought is criminal (Orwell 23). As seen in both cases, this definitional shift does not allow for governments to recognize morally justified acts of rebellion. It assumes the state holds a position of ultimate moral authority, and in doing so, blinds the state to the possibility that righteous and just revolutionaries might

In the case of 1984, the party prioritizes vaporizing those who might deviate from the system’s teachings over solving the structural imperfection of it (Orwell 77). Under the command of “Thou art”, Oceania devotes all resources to the unattainable goal of expunging those who simply art not (Orwell 322). And again, the same unsolvable dilemma occurs within The Minority Report, in which the Pre-Crime system seeks to remove individuals from society who, according to Anderton, “are innocent” (Dick 2). This drive towards the impossible goal of security alters the values of a system, placing any deviants firmly as the other. Such sentiments are also articulated by Professors of Criminology Jude McCulloch and Dean Wilson, who warn against societies in which “the post-crime orientation of criminal justice is increasingly overshadowed by the pre-crime logic of security” (McCulloch and Wilson 16). The neverending search for a secure society prevents reformism from taking root, driving nonconformity further away from what the state can