"The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness: only power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from all the oligarchies of the past, in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just round the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" - Orwell's 1984
*Xev falls asleep and dreams of a world where one of her favorite books isn't the tool of boring-ass lefties*
I'll bet you listen to Anti-flag, don't you EvilPoet? Hehe. Just buggin. 1984 was a good book. Have you ever read "BRave New world" by Aldous Huxley? If not, you should. -Kyle **scolding Xev* Some people need a cause you know! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Yes, I have read it. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I have also read: Brave New World Revisited, Island, Heaven and Hell, and The Doors of Perception.
I've read "Brave New World". Whats "BNW: Revisited"? I wanna get "The Doors of Perception" and "Heaven and Hell" some time soon actually. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Something along similar lines, maybe a little less broad in their political implications, are the short stories of J.G. Ballard. They're the same kind of futurism.
He has written a lot that I haven't read yet but from what I have read so far - yes I think they are good. I find his perspective interesting food for thought. If you read "Brave New World" and found it interesting you would probably find his other writings interesting as well. I also think people should decide for themselves. Here is a link to all things Huxley Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! http://somaweb.org
This is BNW: Revisited. When I got "The Doors of Perception" and "Heaven and Hell" I got them both in one book Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Did you know that this week (Sept. 21–28) was Banned Books Week? It just so happens that "Brave New World" is #52 on the list of the 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990–2000. http://www.ala.org/bbooks
I have heard of J.G. Ballard but never read anything by him. Any recommendations on what to start with?
you know it would be nice to read something every now and again that actually celebrates politics... that dosn't brand the human race a greedy selfish existance, and that everything we ever do is stupid because we're too dumb to know any better. I like money, i like that it brings opportunity, and therefore you say im a capliatlist. I like the struggle for survival, I like that we have a challange everyday and therefore I am a darwinist.... why, at every change do, we have to demise it. As far as I have read, history is about mistakes, that, yes we have learnt from. But are we therefore destined to make mistakes? I oppose any form of fundamentalism, and I am quite liberal about that! BTW nice to be back!!!
yeah but i just can't celebrate the president of the united states, and being a capitalist (which i sort of have to be living in america, with no cold wars at hand...) is sort of in style. so i guess that ill survive on my consummerism and just look ashamed when this nation goes off with reckless abandon after iraq.... and we (by we i mean america) are certainly destined to make mistakes, and hey maybe evryone else will get luckly and we'll make enough mistakes to go around. -rich
EvilPoet: I would reccommend the collected short stories. You can buy them at any Barnes and Noble. I haven't read any of his newer stuff, but he wrote Empire of the Sun, and the cult favorite Crash.
Walker: I was looking for something new to read after I finish the book I am currently reading so thanks for the recommendation, much appreciated. Ah yes ... Barnes and Noble - next to the library it is one of my favorite places to hang out. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
