[108013] in Cypherpunks
Re: _1984_ vs _This_Perfect_Day_
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Steve Mynott)
Mon Feb 1 04:28:46 1999
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 09:11:55 +0000
From: Steve Mynott <steve@tightrope.demon.co.uk>
To: "Trei, Peter" <ptrei@securitydynamics.com>
Cc: "'Jean-Francois Avon'" <jf_avon@citenet.net>,
"'cypherpunks@toad.com'" <cypherpunks@toad.com>
In-Reply-To: <D104150098E6D111B7830000F8D90AE84DE018@exna02.securitydynamics.com>; from Trei, Peter on Fri, Jan 29, 1999 at 10:39:59AM -0500
Reply-To: Steve Mynott <steve@tightrope.demon.co.uk>
On Fri, Jan 29, 1999 at 10:39:59AM -0500, Trei, Peter wrote:
> Also, Huxley's "Brave New World." (1946).
>
> The curious thing is that Rand and Orwell (1949) are both clearly ripping
> off
> Zamayatin for their basic plot (Huxley also seems influenced).
Brave New World was published in 1932. Also I don't think the books
are that similar.
1984 is more directly political than "Brave New World" which is more
about technology (drug and bio engineering) and the spirit of man.
In the long term Huxley may have been more right and his book looks
less dated in 1999.
Orwell's 1984 is actually influenced more by Britain in the year 1948
(numbers transposed) than anything else ( immediate post-war Britain
had rationing, centralised "planning" and saw the seizure of industries
by the state -- "nationalisation").
Ironically these controls were removed far more rapidly in Germany,
which then experienced great economic growth.
Britain, of course, then suffered from the theories of the economic
quack Keynes.
--
1024/D9C69DF9 steve mynott steve@tightrope.demon.co.uk http://www.pineal.com/
one page principle:
a specification that will not fit on one page of 8.5x11 inch
paper cannot be understood.
-- mark ardis
