His importance to the century just past, and therefore his status as a figure in history as well as in literature, derives from the extraordinary salience of the subjects he ‘took on, ’ and stayed with, and never abandoned. As a consequence, we commonly use the term ‘Orwellian’ in one of two ways. To describe a state of affairs as ‘Orwellian’ is to imply crushing tyranny and fear and conformism. To describe a piece of writing as ‘Orwellian’ is to recognize that human resistance to these terrors is unquenchable. Not bad for one short lifetime. Christopher Hitchens
About This Quote

"Orwellian" may be roughly defined as a condition that is "Orwellian" or "Orwellian-like," i.e. characterized by the existence of, or reminiscent of, the totalitarian state of Oceania in George Orwell's novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four" (1949). In this novel, the government of Oceania consists of a single party whose members are unaware of their oppression and whose policies are carried out by a secret police called the "thought police." The term is sometimes used to describe an authoritarian political system which resembles Oceania. It is also used to describe a situation in which someone seems very similar to a character from the book, e.g., a person who behaves in a manner similar to Winston Smith in Orwell's book, or a situation that is reminiscent of life under the regime in Oceania.

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  5. My own opinion is enough for me, and I claim the right to have it defended against any consensus, any majority, anywhere, any place, any time. And anyone who disagrees with this can pick a number, get in line, and kiss my ass.
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