About

We're staunchly apolitical, and oppose Orwellian tendencies regardless of who promotes them. It's broadly agreed that authoritarian regimes both on the left (e.g. the Soviet Union) and on the right (e.g. fascists) have exhibited Orwellian tendencies. In the US, criticism about censorship and surveillance have come mainly from the left during the McCarthy era, but mainly from the right recently. Starting down the Orwellian slippery slope can be tempting for leaders of any political orientation because, as Lord Acton warned, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely".

Humanity is at a crossroads, faced with ever more consequential decisions. The better informed we all are by free and open discourse unencumbered by fear and intimidation, the more likely it is that humanity will make wise decisions and flourish rather than flounder.

Orwellian policies fall on a spectrum from mild to extreme, and Western democracies are obviously a far cry from Orwell's dystopia. However, a thriving democracy requires constant vigilance against Orwellian drift, especially since strategy #1 of any leader pushing an Orwellian policy will be to claim that it isn't Orwellian. As the saying goes, "The devil's greatest trick is to convince people that he doesn't exist".

No. We consider it reasonable to balance the right to free speech against harm from death threats, revenge porn, doxxing, espionage, etc. We therefore focus our criticism on more extreme and ridiculous forms of censorship that appear motivated by less noble motives such as retaining power, silencing criticism and suppressing political views opposed by the establishment.

No. We consider it reasonable to balance the right to privacy against harm from criminal activity, etc. Therefore, our criticism is focused on more extreme and ridiculous forms of surveillance that appears motivated by less noble motives such as retaining power and harming political opponents. Examples that we consider unreasonable include FBI's controversial surveillance of e.g. Martin Luther King and the warrantless mass surveillance of US citizens that was ruled illegal by a U.S. Appeals Court.

No. But we oppose war and warmongering based on misinformation. For example, Hitler justified his invasion of Poland by claiming that Poland had attacked Germany, and examples of wars started via manufactured pretenses abound. Given the great humanitarian cost of war, we believe that claims supporting war must be subjected to extra scrutiny.

Because Orwellian tendencies of the latter are so numerous, obvious and well-known that covering them thoroughly would consume most of our time while adding very little that's not already well-covered by Western media. Also, just as a good parent puts special effort into helping make their own kids moral role models, a good citizen should put special effort into helping make their own institutions anti-Orwellian role models.