Our ‘1984,’ George Orwellian future

(¥ |spent New Year's alone at home and you

should too
(¥ Our likely future
And more!

may be closer than we think

> Net neutrality is just the beginning

Jessica Berget
Opinions Editor

 

nour present social and political climate,

many people strongly believe that we are
already living in, or headed straight for a
dystopian, George Orwell’s “1984”-esque
future, complete with doublethink,
perpetual war, and the ever-famous Big
Brother watching over us at all times. This
ultimately comes as no surprise; people
have been claiming that we're living in
“1984” ever since the book first came out.

However, with the recent repeal of
net neutrality in the US, the illegal way in
which it was done, and Canada possibly
following closely in their footsteps, the
possibility of living in an authoritative,
brainwashing society like the one Orwell
describes in his novel might not be very far
in the future.

T honestly believe that we are indeed
living in a war-mongered, brainwashed,
surveillance heavy society, but not nearly
to the degree of Orwell’s famous book.
Yes, war seems to be breaking out, or is
at the very least on the verge of it nearly
everywhere we look in the news, many
people are addicted to smart phones, news
about celebrities who have no reason for
being famous, fabricated, or biased news
reports are flooding our social media

accounts, and there are several surveillance
cameras nearly everywhere we go. Kelly
Anne Conway’s use of the term “alternative
facts” doesn't really put anyone at ease, but
compared to the totalitarian conditions of
the society described in “1984,” we have a
long way to go to accurately describe our
society as a “dystopia.” In Western society,
we still have a lot of freedoms and rights
that many countries presently do not have.
I think it’s dramatic for people to claim that
we are all already living in “1984.”

This is one major problem I find
with claiming that we presently live in
a dystopian society, it is heavily centred
on Western society conditions. There
are many countries that are living with
an authoritative government, little to no
internet freedoms, face the horrors of war
daily, or all the above. Take North Korea,
China, or anywhere in the Middle East,
for example. These are countries that fit
more closely within the rubric of being
a dystopia, yet I have heard no one claim
that they are living the George Orwellian
society that we fear so much. It seems that
if Western society isn’t dealing with these
conditions, then no one is.

The repeal of net neutrality in the
US is only the first taste of what it is like
to live in a society that controls the media
and content we can view, much like in
Orwell’s book, and it seems Canada will

 

be the next country to follow. According to
a report by Canadaland, Major Canadian
companies such as Bell, Rogers, Shaw,
Cineplex, and Quebec-based theatre
company Cinemas Guzzo are pushing

the Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commissions (CRTC)
to create an organization called the Internet
Piracy Review Agency (IPRA) in the name
of blocking piracy, and yes, this should
scare you. Blocking any content from

the internet is a slippery slope. Once one

Illustration by Cara Seccafien

thing is blocked, there will be other groups
with reasons to block other things, thus
leading us down a dark path of absolute
net neutrality, and when major telecom
corporations are involved, the outcome

is never good, as we've seen with our
American neighbours.

Although we are not yet living ina
“1984”-esque society, it is something we
should be wary of. It may happen when we
least expect it, or we may not even realize
it’s happening at all.

Globalism shouldn't be a bad word

> The world can become better with more connection

Greg Waldock
Staff Writer

 

« lobalism” is a scary word. Some
see it as a group of wealthy elites
using international organizations like
the United Nations to make profits at the
expense of the working class. Others see
it as the result of colonialism and Western
intervention over the past centuries in
countries around the world, encouraging
modern slavery and political instability.
While I believe that these both contain
elements of the truth—especially the
latter—I also believe they completely
miss what globalism really is: Humanity’s
greatest opportunity to improve itself.
On an international scale, the
most notable impact of globalism isn’t
violent coups or assassinations—it’s
interdependency. All nations in the
world rely on other nations in some way
to survive and progress. Take creating
a microscope to study bacteria for
developing cures for example. The glass of
the microscope must come from certain
regions in the Middle East, refined into
glass in factories in Western Europe,
using foundry parts made efficiently in
China, shipped using boats constructed
in India, and delivered to American

buyers who need to have hands in all
these countries. That interdependency
for materials is an analogy for global
trade as a whole. Miss one part, and our
ability to make cures for diseases and
advance the sciences halts completely.
If we can refine this process with time,
it’s entirely possible to have global trade
systems that don’t use sweatshops to cut
costs or treat their workers inhumanely.
Ona personal level, globalism opens
the door for new and vibrant forms
of self-expression. The 2oth and 21st
centuries have been golden ages of artistic
expression, with entire new art forms
emerging every handful of years through
cultural interpretation and fusion. For
example, Pablo Picasso fused Spanish
and African, Greek, and American styles
into his own unique vision, creating
entire genres. Art like this creates a
common ground for people to share
experiences and worldviews; through
globalism, people were able to connect
with each other on a more metaphorical
level than mass communication.
Ultimately, globalism will be
what we make it. We're far better off
embracing it and working to correct its
wrongs than we would be dismissing it
as mere elitism or colonialism—while
it is both, it is also so much more.

 

"Les Femmes d’Alger’ by Pablo Picasso