-The influence of James Burnham in Orwell's 1984
Orwell has been deeply influenced by James Burnham's The Managerial Revolution. In this work, Burnham said that the nature of advanced economies in the modern age required a new class of technocratic "managers" to run all aspects of modern life, from industry through the government. Burnham expressed that the purpose of politics, despite the ostensible rhetoric and stated party platforms, was to give power to the ruling elite. People could only retain their liberty by safeguarding the right of judicial opposition and maintaining institutions independent of the government.
In his work Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism, Orwell explains that the new ruling class would consist on "bureaucrats, scientists, technicians, trade-union organizers, publicity experts, socialists, teachers, journalists, and professional politicians." In 1984, we see Big Brother as this Manager, Winston's world is carefully controlled; "Big brother is watching you", the party controls everything, freedom does not exist.
Orwell's former home at 77 Parliament Hill, Hampst...
English: George Orwell in Hampstead On the corner ...
Dust jacket of the 1941 edition of Burnham's semin...Burnham also, predicted that if Germany had won the war, the world would be divided into three areas. Those three areas were the United States (dominating the world's ocean-going countries), Germany (dominating the Eurasian heartland), and Japan (dominating the Far East. In 1984, Orwell adopted Burnham's idea that the world was reorganizing itself into three rival totalitarian states: Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia. This geopolitical structure of the world is probably the most important influence Burnham had over Orwell.
In the following extract, Orwell explains Burnham's point of view:
"avoids the usual hypocritical attitude of "condemning" Russian policy while denying that it could be right in any circumstances to go to war. In international politics, as he realizes, you must either be ready to practice appeasement indefinitely, or at some point you must be ready to fight. He also sees that appeasement is an...