Why Do People Keep Comparing Trump's America to Orwell's 1984?

Whatever side of politics you’re on, it's no secret that the unorthodox and extremist tactics of the Trump presidency have a lot of Americans, and citizens worldwide, worried.

From stoking hatred of immigrants, to his Great Wall of Mexico, these shock tactics seem eerily familiar to anyone who has read Orwell's dystopia, "1984" - to keep a population malleable, you have to create an enemy that people can target and blame for their personal frustrations and fear. So, the Inner Party creates a state of constant war. 

But the Party is a little slippery with the facts. One minute Oceania is fighting Eurasia, the next minute, they've "always" been fighting EastAsia instead. This slippery trend is unfortunately mirrored by Trump' presidency; his Press Secretary even lied about how many people attended Trump's inauguration. When she was caught out, she claimed she was using "alternative facts".

Politicians have always been expected to spin the truth a little, so why are observers of Trump's behaviour so worried about this new, "post-truth" era? Because it's one thing to spin or stretch the facts, it's another to view facts themselves as irrelevant. And a government who believes "Ignorance is Strength", with access to mass media and surveillance, could change our perception of reality until the facts don't matter.

There's a famous line in 1984 where Inner Party member, O'Brien, tries to explain to an unbelieving Winston that, if the Party says so, "two plus two equals five". This sounds like nonsense, but what O'Brien is really saying is that if you have an all-powerful government at the helm, facts are irrelevant - because with no history, no science, no outside reality to refer to, there is no way for the people to challenge their leader.

In the novel, it's doubtful that "Big Brother" is even a real person - he' s a made-up figurehead for the Party to build a cult of personality around. And fictitious people cannot be held accountable for their actions. Likewise, Trump is more media image than person - an ex-reality TV star who makes so many contradictory claims, it becomes difficult to critique his beliefs and policies, or even really know what they are.

This isn't just a daffy politician bungling his words - it's a ploy to make the facts irrelevant. Time will tell if Trump's fact-free mode of governing will have a lasting effect on Western politics, but several bookstores in San Francisco think the antidote is simply reading "1984". They're giving away free copies of the dystopia - hoping that if readers understand Trump's "doublespeak" they won't be conned by it.