But is it perhaps childish or morbid to terrify oneself with visions of a totalitarian future? Before writing off the totalitarian world as a nightmare that can't come true, just remember that in 1925 the world of today would have seemed a nightmare that couldn't come true.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Orwell warns against dismissing totalitarianism as impossible because the present often seems unimaginable until it happens.
- In plain terms
- What seems impossible today might be reality tomorrow.
- What can you take from it?
- Be skeptical of dismissing extreme political futures as fantasy.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What nightmares are we ignoring today?
- How do we distinguish fantasy from risk?
Another view
The comparison assumes linear progression rather than unique historical contexts.
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