Welcome To 1984

1984 Did Not Happen In 1984

George Orwell (the pen name of an Englishman named Eric Arthur Blair) conceptualized how a socialist - fascist Government could use technology to control personal beliefs, emotions and behavior. First published in 1949, his book "Nineteen Eighty-Four", described an extremely oppressive bureaucratic system of national social management. Fortunately for England (and America), the brutally intrusive police state he depicted never happened in either country.

There were three basic reasons:

1. In 1984 we humans had not yet developed the necessary computer, software and communications technology. The network infrastructure necessary to support the police state he envisioned did not exist. Though several dictatorships had extensive surveillance networks, they lacked the necessary technology to impose a truly effective system of social management. Populations were controlled by fear, torture, murder, and propaganda.

2. Although several western nations flirted with socialism, and liberals often championed the brutal forms of communism found in China and Russia, the political trend in Europe and the United States from ~1950 through 1984 favored the adoption of government structures that mixed socialism with democracy. Some form of free market capitalism was acceptable. Most western nations were able to overcome the economic, social and political strains of the Cold War without resorting to overly restrictive centralized planning.

3. Despite the effect of several bloody wars and regional confrontations, there was no real danger to the western Ecosystem. Our environmental challenges were perceived as relatively insignificant. We had ample supplies of cheap electricity, oil, natural gas and coal. Healthy food, effective health care, inexpensive clothing and comfortable housing were available. Even with occasional protests, western national cultures were generally cohesive and relatively quiescent.

Fast Forward to the 21^st Century.

Things have changed.  Computer technology and communications infrastructure now make Orwell's "1984" description of socialist - fascist political control physically possible. The institutions of government now have the technology to create a brutal system of social management and thought control:

Computer Hardware

1984.  Orwell's vision would have needed an almost unlimited amount of computer power. Although mainframes and minicomputers were readily available in 1984, they would have been too expensive, too limited, and too slow to support the enormous computing demands of a nationwide spy system.  Personal Computers (PCs) were not pervasive. Data base server technology was just beginning to emerge in communication systems architectures.  Data storage peripherals were expensive and inadequate for the amount of information that would be required for an effective surveillance system.

2017. The hardware to build a distributed computer system with a massive database now exists. There is sufficient mainframe computer power. PCs and hand-held devices are ubiquitous tools for data entry and retrieval. Server technology is cheap and readily available. Millions of relatively inexpensive data storage peripherals have been delivered.

Software and Data

1984.  Although many companies and government agencies had sophisticated software capability, the computer, network and database software that would have been required to support a massive system of social control was not available.

2017. As Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter have proven, we now have the systems architecture, software technology, and data storage needed to track, monitor, record and influence (or control) individual behavior on a massive scale. Government spy agencies spend billions on massive database systems and software. The necessary data and software analysis tools exist - and are being used.

Communication Networks

1984.  Although most corporations and government agencies had extensive networks by the 1980s, they lacked the ubiquity and interconnection required to support a vast system of data acquisition and dissemination.

2017.  The Internet exists. Cell phone and land line service exist. We now have ubiquitous networks for connecting computers, servers, PCs, microelectronic devices, cell phones, and network appliances to surveillance computer systems. Connection enables unrestricted observation and the distribution of propaganda. The intent of the Fourth Amendment is routinely violated. (Note 1)

Microelectronics

1984. The successful implementation of a socialist - fascist monitoring and behavior control system requires the widespread installation of millions of sensors and activity monitors. In 1984 sensors and monitors were relatively expensive and usually connected to a limited number of custom networks for specialized applications.

2017.  Appliance and sensor technology is readily available and inexpensive. Credit and debit card readers, GPS appliances, cell phones, hand held computers, radio frequency identity tags and sensors, micro TV cameras and other monitoring devices are everywhere. The associated embedded systems software is well developed. These devices can be programmed to “talk” to each other and to a centralized data base. Computer ID chips, built into the computing device you carry or embedded in your skin, tell the system where you are whenever you pass a sensor.  Your identity can also be determined by available face recognition software. The location and identification technology required for a dictatorship is now in place.

Tools of Control

We frequently hear breathless excitement over the coming Internet of Things. The objective is to connect your security system, refrigerator, electric service, furnace, and so on to the Internet. The idea is that using your smart phone (which can be monitored) you can control all these appliances and services from a remote location. There is just one problem: if you can monitor and control these appliances from a remote location, then the government is also able to monitor and control them.

This is already being done. If you have a “Smart Meter” attached to your electrical service for example, the government is in a position to monitor and then control how much electricity you use; and when you are allowed to use it; and how long you are allowed to use it; for cooking, heating and air conditioning. Although compliance is currently voluntary, forced compliance is only a bureaucratic regulation away. Your electric power company calls it “load balancing,” which simply means there is not enough electricity to meet consumer demand. Next on the agenda: monitoring and control of your furnace in order to minimize the consumption of heating oil, propane and natural gas. It is all perfectly justified, however, by the simplistic retort “We have to save the environment”, or “We have to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions.”

To Summarize

Using available computer technology and communications infrastructure, it is entirely possible to create an effective surveillance system with a massive database to track the location, identity, activity, and thoughts of every targeted person.  We now have the technical means to create the socialist – fascist State envisioned by Orwell (and the far left in many nations), or the alternative fascist - socialist State visualized by the far right (in many nations).

So Here We Are

The social pressures of an increasingly complex world invite top-down political solutions.  We are aware of our environmental challenges.  There is a rising demand for change in the midst of social turmoil.  Although we look for order and personal security, cultural diversity initiatives continue to breed increasing division.  Liberal and Muslim theology is undermining traditional western social order. Governments can no longer control their borders or the growing populations of self-centered self-absorbed factions who owe no allegiance to anyone but themselves. Will existing governments provide an adequate response to the cultural, economic and environmental strains of the 21^st century? 

Probably not.                  

Big Brother

Thought Management

1984.  No established government had a realistic opportunity to impose an effective system of thought management on its citizens. Oppression through fear and torture existed; propaganda was repeated until it was regarded as truth; but there was no effective way to implement mind control.

2017.  Liberals, communists, socialists, globalists, and establishment elitists, along with far right and left zealots, accept personal mind control as a desirable and legitimate function of government. Many media organizations are nothing more than outlets for “approved” commentary. Social networks have become an effective tool for the distribution of fake news and propaganda. Our political institutions now have the tools to impose a system of thought management on us.

Culture

1984.  Although Western culture was in transition, traditional ethical behavior was still important. Christian theology framed western moral values. We had a relatively strong confidence in our elected leaders and the institutions of democracy. The focus was on individual behavior and personal responsibility.

2017.  Traditional western values are under relentless attack. Self-righteous belief systems inevitably lead to distrust and the nourishment of social conflict. Elitists reject democracy, scorn free market economics, disparage traditional values, routinely use the courts to make law, and deride idea of national sovereignty.  Open discourse is scorned, discouraged and even prohibited. Facts are ignored with patronizing contempt. Add a nagging fear of terrorism, the turmoil caused by policies of social diversity, and the growth of organizations with an anti-Christian agenda and we have a trend - a transition in progress - to an authoritarian culture.

Political Institutions

1984.  Despite occasional problems with corruption, we still believed our political institutions were doing an acceptable job of managing the affairs of our Republic. Communism was destined to collapse because it is, in essence, a very inefficient management system, prone to institutionalized corruption, and ignorant of human nature.

2017.  Our political institutions are no longer effective and riddled with corruption. Illegal and unashamedly unethical behavior by favored groups or individuals is expected and even condoned. The thirst for money and power has effectively destroyed the legislative process. Rule by edict is replacing rule by consensus. (Note 2)

Tools of Oppression?

The American “intelligence community” includes at least 17 agencies and offices. The American Fiscal Year 2018 budget request for intelligence included a request of $57.7 billion for the National Intelligence Program (NIP) and a request of $20.7 billion for the Military Intelligence Program (MIP). Funding for the National Security Agency (NSA) comes from these two budgets.

With an estimated budget of more than $12 billion and over 40,000 employees and private contractors, the National Security Agency (NSA) is the largest spy agency in the Federal Government. The NSA manages data collection sites all over the world. But two are the most important for domestic surveillance operations: (Sourced, edited, and condensed from wikipedia.org):

·       The NSA PRISM facility in Bluffdale, Utah is able to store and scan multiple Exabyte’s of data. That’s enough data storage capacity to keep a record of all our networked communication activities and thoughts: emails, phone calls, videos, photos, Internet activity, social network comments, credit card purchases, parking receipts, travel itineraries, and so on. NSA gathers information from monitoring stations, telephone companies, software companies, and social network operators including Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Facebook, Skype, and Apple.

·       Built on 350 acres of Ft. Meade's 5,000 acres, the main NSA headquarters and operations buildings contain more than 3,000,000 square feet of floor space. A separate High Performance Computing Center has 14 administrative buildings on 227 acres and contains 1,800,000 square feet of floor space. Planned increments will quadruple the size of this installation by adding 5,800,000 square feet of floor space in 60 buildings.  and 40 parking garages.

Endorsed by three presidents, and both political parties, the mission and reach of the NSA continues to increase. Congressional oversite is ineffective and lacks vision. In the wrong hands, the opportunity for surveillance and intimidation is unlimited. (Notes 3 and 4)

The FBI

It is clear that certain top level managers in Barack Obama’s FBI wanted to prevent Donald Trump from becoming President, or - failing that - wanted to set him up for impeachment after the election. In doing so, the FBI attempted to interfere with the 2016 election. Public confidence isn’t helped by the continuing refusal of the Justice Department and the FBI to cooperate with Congress. Nor can the public be content with feckless Congressional oversite efforts. For the purposes of this article: how easy would it be for the FBI to become a politically directed police force? Has this already happened? If so, who is really controlling their actions? If Hillary Clinton had become President, would she have used the FBI to harass her enemies? (Note 5)

Where Are We Going?

Police Power

The political management and control of social behavior requires four elements: technology (we have the tools), the institutionalized monitoring of human behavior (broadly accepted under current law), motivated autocratic leadership (a firm belief in the perfect political solution), and a continuous flow of politically correct opinion management (think of it as mind control).  All of these elements are in place.  Our former beliefs in the freedom of personal responsibility are gradually being replaced by public behavior regulation – all backed by the police power of the State.

Trigger Event

1984.  Fortunately for America, no single event or combination of problems was catastrophic enough to encourage the creation of an authoritarian Government.

2017.  Uneasy fears about our personal safety and economic security, incessant conflict between cultural groups, a pervasive shift from Christian democratic values to the autocratic theocracy of Liberalism, and a belief that the Federal Government has become hopelessly ineffective all contribute to a growing sense of frustration. We are not merely looking for new political leadership; we seek a fundamental change in the organization of our political institutions. Catastrophic acts of terrorism, a disruption in the flow of Middle Eastern oil, or a severe economic recession are among the events that could trigger a demand for a new system of government.

Welcome to 1984

In the novel 1984 Great Britain became a province of the super state Oceania, a world of perpetual war, oppressive government surveillance and public manipulation. The super state is under the control of privileged elitists who persecute independent thinking and personal liberty. The primary objective of the party is absolute power. Big Brother, the favored object of intense cult loyalty and adulation, oversees a web of surveillance and intimidation. The main character, Winston Smith, is employed by the government to rewrite history so that it supports the Party’s social and political agenda.

Sound familiar? It should. Leaders within the United Nations regard the United States as merely being a province within a global super state - all controlled by the UN. War is endemic all over the globe. Ultra-rich elitists pursue ever greater wealth and power for themselves. Social networks like Facebook and Google know all about their users, and routinely filter information so that it is compatible with current social policy and thinking. The history of western culture, including the history of the United States, is being rewritten to support pop-culture beliefs.

A few closing questions.

Is this the kind of government we want to leave to our children and grandchildren? Will we allow the elitists who control the institutions of government to force an Orwellian State on us? Are we the people strong enough to defend our precious rights? Who will step up to defend life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness under the rule of law? Who is willing to protect our right of self-determination? Our property rights? Our freedom to believe in a higher authority? Who still believes in government of the people, for the people, and by the people?

Who?

Ronald R. Cooke

The Cultural Economist

Note 1: The Supreme Court of the United States will be forced to rule on how the Fourth Amendment can be applied in the 21st century. Under a dictatorship, the Supreme Court’s decisions will be ignored.

Note 2: With his famous pen and telephone comment, Barack Obama clearly demonstrated he could and would use dictatorial power to manage the affairs of State. Donald Trump will be forced to pursue the same management methods because Democrats and dissident Republicans refuse to work with him.

Note 3: During the Obama years, the National Security Agency intentionally and routinely intercepted and reviewed communications of American citizens in violation of the Constitution and of court-ordered guidelines implemented pursuant to federal law. - http://www.nationalreview.com/article/447973/nsa-illegal-surveillance-americans-obama-administration-abuse-fisa-court-response.

Note 4: The NSA has the software and hardware technology to control newer vehicles, intrude on your privacy through “smart” TVs that monitor your activity and conversation while you watch TV, monitor your Internet use through your web browser, and observe your thoughts through the operating systems that control your smart phone and personal computer.

Note 5: See The FBI’s Trump ‘Insurance’, More troubling evidence of election meddling at the bureau, by The WSJ Editorial Board; and Opinion Journal: The FBI’s Clinton Campaign Collusion, Dec. 13, 2017; and do an Internet search with the words “FBI collusion”.

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