Orwell’s 1984 as Civilisational Diagnosis

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George Orwell’s 1984 is commonly interpreted as a political warning against totalitarianism. This paper situates the novel within humanities-based debates on civilisation by reading dystopia as a form of civilisational self-critique rather than as the negation of civilisation. It argues that 1984 interrogates the assumption that historical progress and rational organisation necessarily lead to ethical advancement. Through a close, chronological reading of the novel, the paper examines how institutions associated with civilisation such as language, bureaucracy, technology, and historical record-keeping, are transformed into mechanisms that erode truth, memory, and moral agency. Drawing on dystopian theory and political philosophy, the analysis shows how Orwell depicts a condition of ‘civilised barbarism,’ in which order and efficiency persist while ethical life collapses. The paper further places Orwell’s diagnosis in dialogue with Indian civilisational thought, particularly its emphasis on dharma and ethical restraint, to highlight alternative understandings of power, progress, and civilisation.