Perhaps the greatest political novel of all time is George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. In his novel Orwell describes a country named Oceania in the 1984, which is a socialist society, ruled by an oppressive government named IngSoc. The society in 1984 is broken down into three social classes: the Inner Party, which is made up of government officials and accounts for 1% of the population; the Outer Party, which is the working middle class and accounts for 18% of the population; and the Proles (Proletariat), which are poor people and account for the remaining 81 percent of Oceania's population. The party IngSoc was created and is ruled by a man known as Big Brother, who is only seen in giant propaganda posters and on television screens. Many parallels can be drawn between the IngSoc party and between governments of both the past and present. .
It is no coincidence that 1984 was written when Joseph Stalin's Socialist government was at its peak. The government in 1984, IngSoc, stands for English Socialism while the giant posters of Big Brother are very similar to those of Stalin. Socialism is a society in which equality and systematic order are the ideals. In 1984 everyone is equal, and like socialism their success is measured on their work not on their possessions. Both Big Brother and Stalin are similar in how they govern their country because they both use special police forces to enforce laws and to frighten their subjects. Another tactic that Stalin used, which is shown in 1984, is using a war or a common enemy to unite his people. In 1984 they are always talking about some war with another country and this war is always shown on giant propaganda television screens. .
In 1984 IngSoc is able to control the people of Oceania through the widespread use of propaganda. The Nazis of Germany and the Fascists of Italy were probably the best propagandists of all time. Fascism depends on high production of a country working together to produce weapons, industrial products, etc In 1984 the people are used not to make weapons but to change the truth to make the government look better.
