Government

People have always been trying to figure which type of government is the best. Countless conflicts, wars, and revolutions have taken place just to figure out what a government should be. What role should the government play? How involved should the government be in people's everyday lives? How involved should the people be in the government? Should religion have an  impact on the government?

The governments of Animal Farm and 1984 have complete control over its citizens' lives. It decides the people's job, work schedule, home life, what they eat, what they say, and what they do.  I think that most would agree that at this point the government has gone too far. But where exactly is that line drawn?

Most governments start out with the intention of benefiting the people. That's typically why revolutions occur; people feel like the government isn't doing what they want, so a new government is put in place. At this point, the government intends to serve the people. To protect them, to take care of them, to aid them in some way. When the government's intentions change from serving the people to serving itself, the line has been crossed.

It is clear in both Animal Farm and 1984 that the government is self serving. Those in charge get the best of everything- food, housing, jobs. The government is designed to take advantage of the common people. In 1984, O'Brien comes straightforward and says that the government seeks power for the sake of having power, not to take care of its citizens. The Party exists to keep the Party alive. War exists for war. There is no other reason.

WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH