emmanuel goldstein wrote the theory and practice of oligarchical collectivism according to winston smith.
emmanuel goldstein wrote the theory and practice of oligarchical collectivism according to winston smith.
who wrote the theory and practice of oligarchical collectivism according to winston smith?
emmanuel goldstein
o'brien rejects winston smith's perspective as nonsense, because he is a faithful member of the inner party, not a revolutionary of the brotherhood. at the miniluv, he tortures winston in order to cure him of his political insanity: that there exists an objective reality external to that of the party. in their torture chamber conversations, he tells winston that "the theory and practice of oligarchical collectivism", "the book" by emmanuel goldstein, was written by a committee that included him. when winston asks o'brien if "the book" is true, he replies: "as description, yes. the program it sets forth is nonsense."
the theory and practice of oligarchical collectivism
in the book "the theory and practice of oligarchical collectivism", read by winston smith and purportedly written by goldstein, big brother is referred to as infallible and all-powerful. no one has ever seen him and there is a reasonable certainty that he will never die. he is simply "the guise in which the party chooses to exhibit itself to the world" since the emotions of love, fear and reverence are more easily focused on an individual (if only a face on the hoardings and a voice on the telescreens) than an organisation. when winston smith is later arrested, o'brien repeats that big brother will never die. when smith asks if big brother exists, o'brien describes him as "the embodiment of the party" and says that he will exist as long as the party exists. when winston asks "does big brother exist the same way i do?" (meaning is big brother an actual human being), o'brien replies "you do not exist" (meaning that smith is now an unperson; an example of doublethink).
big brother (nineteen eighty-four)