| The Betrayal of Dissent: Beyond Orwell, Hitchens and the New American Century Contributor(s): Lucas, Scott (Author) |
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ISBN: 0745321976 ISBN-13: 9780745321974 Publisher: Pluto Press (UK) OUR PRICE: $34.15 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: August 2003 Annotation: Since his death in 1950, George Orwell has been canonised as England's foremost political writer, and the holder of honesty and freedom for the honourable 'Left'. In this controversial polemic, Scott Lucas argues that the exaltation of Orwell, far from upholding dissent against the State, has sought to quash such opposition. Orwell has become the icon of those who -- in the pose of the contrarian -- seek to quash public opposition to US and UK foreign policy and the 'war on terror'.Lucas's lively and readable critique of public intellectuals including Christopher Hitchens, Michael Walzer, David Aaronovitch, and Johann Hari -- who have all invoked Orwellian honesty and decency to shut down dissent -- will appeal to anyone disillusioned with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Lucas contends that these leading journalists and commentators have used Orwell to justify their own political transition from radicals to upholders of the establishment -- they have all played influential parts in backing up the UK and US government line that opponents of aggressive foreign policy strategies should be condemned as 'appeasers of mass murder'.This controversial book shows how Orwell has been used since 9/11 to obscure debate about the causes of terrorism. By exploring the transition of Orwell's own political alliances, Lucas reveals a very different picture of George Orwell from the one that we are usually presented with. Lucas argues that, far from rescuing Orwell for us, we should be rescued from Orwell: 'George the "contrarian" leads us into support of the American and British States; it is those who protest who are the "smelly little orthodoxies" which plagued him more than 60 years ago.' |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | American - General |
| Dewey: 320.01 |
| Physical Information: 0.74" H x 4.78" W x 8.22" (0.77 lbs) 324 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Since his death in 1950, George Orwell has been canonised as England's foremost political writer, and the standard-bearer of honesty and decency for the honourable 'Left'. In this controversial polemic, Scott Lucas argues that the exaltation of Orwell, far from upholding dissent against the State, has sought to quash such opposition. Indeed, Orwell has become the icon of those who, in the pose of the contrarian, try to silence public opposition to US and U K foreign policy in the 'War on Terror'. Lucas's lively and readable critique of public intellectuals including Christopher Hitchens, Michael Walzer, David Aaronovitch, and Johann Hari - who have all invoked Orwellian honesty and decency to shut down dissent - will appeal to anyone disillusioned with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. |
Contributor Bio(s): Lucas, Scott: - Scott Lucas is a regular contributor to the New Statesman. He is Professor of International Politics at the University of Birmingham and author of numerous books on US and British foreign policy, intelligence services, culture and ideology. He is the author of Orwell: LIfe and Times (2003). |
