Culture Wars and the Sanction of the Victim

"Why can’t they write new stuff instead of mutilating our cultural heritage to suit their warped progressive ideology?" laments an exasperated commentator in a recent Twitter post.

Another complains:

It isn’t about the merits or otherwise of the particular causes; it’s about the manner in which this political propaganda is being shoved relentlessly into every area of public life.

Whether in print, social media, or through film and TV outlets like Hollywood and the BBC, the promotion of humorless, woke ideology is overwhelmingly invasive and relentless: from gender-confused characters permeating almost every film and TV program to the recent, ludicrous spectacle of a black African Isaac Newton.

Orwell was Right - Just Premature

George Orwell's portrayal of the oppressors' manipulation of history serves as a stark warning about the power of totalitarian regimes to control information and, by extension, thought. By erasing and rewriting history, the oppressors in "1984" eliminate the possibility of dissent or disagreement, as there is no factual basis or historical context against which to compare the present. If all records show only the Party's version of events, then that version becomes the truth.

This manipulation is part of a broader theme in Orwell's work about the abuse of language and truth by authoritarian regimes. Through the concept of "Newspeak," the language designed to eliminate personal thought and opposition, Orwell demonstrates how controlling language and history can effectively control the populace's minds, eliminating the very concept of objective truth.

Progressives seem to have adopted Orwell's 1984 - but they missed his underlying warning. Rather than cautioning against totalitarian control, they are using the novel as an instruction manual. Orwell exposed the dangers of centralized power shaping reality and manufacturing consent. Yet progressives now employ the same tactics of censorship, disinformation, and historical revisionism to manipulate a compliant public. Where Orwell hoped 1984 would spark resistance to unchecked power, progressives have instead embraced his dystopia as a guidebook for enacting their agenda, implementing the system of thought control warned about rather than rising up against it. Ironically, the author who cautioned "freedom is the freedom to say two plus two makes four" now has his works championed by those proclaiming two plus two equals five.

The Sanction of the Victim

Progressives not only harbor unrealistic views on gender, race, and history - they aim to compel reasonable people into endorsing such perspectives. By utilizing social credit scores, silencing dissenting voices ("de-platforming"), publicizing private information ("doxing"), and demanding unearned compensation ("reparations"), progressives reveal an inclination toward totalitarianism. Decades prior, Ayn Rand had the foresight to identify this tendency toward forced ideological conformity.

The "Sanction of the Victim" is a central concept in Ayn Rand's philosophy. It refers to how evil relies on the consent and cooperation of good people to operate. The "victim" enables their own victimization through compromise or accepting guilt.

In Atlas Shrugged, the productive members of society withdraw their consent by going on strike. They refuse to support a system that punishes merit and rewards incompetence. This demonstrates that a society cannot survive when parasitic upon its most competent members.

Rand calls for a moral revolution - for people to recognize their self-worth, assert their right to exist for themselves, and reject systems demanding their sacrifice.

She writes:

"The world you desire can be won. It exists...it is real...it is possible...it's yours."

This quote urges the individual not to accept unearned guilt and duty, but to live by their own values and pursuit of happiness.

We can defeat twisted ideologies by rejecting attempts to extract our consent. Progressives rely on the sanction of their victims - without it, their ideas fall apart.