A Series of Tubes

Today I read “Politics and the English Language” by George Orwell, and felt the need to share.  The essay acts as a guide for writers to be more effective and avoid poor style, with the political consequences half inferred.  Hopefully it will help my writing, but one of the examples that Orwell uses caught my eye:  It is an excerpt from a communist pamphlet:

All the “best people” from the gentlemen’s clubs, and all the frantic fascist captains, united in common hatred of Socialism and bestial horror at the rising tide of the mass revolutionary movement, have turned to acts of provocation, to foul incendiarism, to medieval legends of poisoned wells, to legalize their own destruction of proletarian organizations, and rouse the agitated petty-bourgeoise to chauvinistic fervor on behalf of the fight against the revolutionary way out of the crisis.

After giving the example, Orwell explains the failings of such writing in terms of the English language, and from this failing in language its failings politically.  Those of you who read my blog regularly will probably already have anticipated where this is going.  The Occupiers at UCSC publish pamphlets, manifestos, communique, blog posts and other writings.  The above example from Orwell could easily be an excerpt from something they wrote.  Because of this, Orwell’s essay should be required reading for them. You can download the essay by Orwell for free online (here) or just search around if you prefer different formatting.  Examples of some of the poor writing for it’s robotic collection of empty phrases:

http://wewanteverything.wordpress.com/2009/09/24/communique-from-an-absent-future/ (This one is particularly egregious)

http://likelostchildren.blogspot.com/2009/10/gilles-dauve-is-our-mothafuckin-homeboy.html

http://revcom.us/Manifesto/Manifesto.html

I have another post related to the last link.  I will update the site soon.  Also if you hadn’t guessed already, Orwell’s essay lays the foundation for newspeak in his later novel 1984.