Dictatorship
"A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it."
What is Dictatorship?
A dictatorship is a form of government in which one person has absolute power, often supported by the military, over the entire country, including its people. In order to secure their power and have more control, dictators remove multiple rights from people, such as the rights to vote or the freedom of speech. Dictators usually rise to power from democratic elections, however once they are elected, they control and change the entire political system to make sure that no one else will remove them from their position, starting with prohibiting all sorts of opposing rights of the people, until they eventually take over the ultimate power. If people oppose to the government’s way of thinking, it would be consider as a crime, and a person could be sentenced to jail or even executed for this.
Dictatorship could be seen throughout history and some of the famous dictators in history are directly related to WWII, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. Most dictators seek a single purpose and start doing everything needed to achieve such goal. They may start limiting rights, raising taxes and so on. However Hitler and Mussolini used their absolute to promote their message and keep control of people’s opinion. (politicalsystems.Inc, 2013)
Pros v.s. Cons
What is good about dictatorship is that decisions are made solely by one person, there will be less quarrels and decisions can be made more efficiently. There will be a faster progression and more actions done towards development and the goals of the leader. Additionally, a reduced amount of quarrels and disagreements will allow laws and regulations to be passed more efficiently. If the dictator knew what the citizens wants and understands the needs and wants and the optimum goal and outcome of the country, then the leader may be capable of being a good leader and making good and righteous decisions for the country.
However on the other hand, Citizens become oppressed. Citizens have a limited amount of rights. Strict rules and laws will be reinforced by the leader in order to prevent others from gaining power. Disobedient citizens who disobey the orders of the leader or speak against the dictator will often be arrested. With such a great amount of powers at the hands of the dictator, the leader may choose to take actions that may be unfair towards the public in order to benefit himself. Such as biased laws and regulations that could be made. The leader can also reinforce unfair punishments that can be immoral as well.
Significance to Animal Farm
What is Dictatorship?
A dictatorship is a form of government in which one person has absolute power, often supported by the military, over the entire country, including its people. In order to secure their power and have more control, dictators remove multiple rights from people, such as the rights to vote or the freedom of speech. Dictators usually rise to power from democratic elections, however once they are elected, they control and change the entire political system to make sure that no one else will remove them from their position, starting with prohibiting all sorts of opposing rights of the people, until they eventually take over the ultimate power. If people oppose to the government’s way of thinking, it would be consider as a crime, and a person could be sentenced to jail or even executed for this.
Dictatorship could be seen throughout history and some of the famous dictators in history are directly related to WWII, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. Most dictators seek a single purpose and start doing everything needed to achieve such goal. They may start limiting rights, raising taxes and so on. However Hitler and Mussolini used their absolute to promote their message and keep control of people’s opinion. (politicalsystems.Inc, 2013)
Pros v.s. Cons
What is good about dictatorship is that decisions are made solely by one person, there will be less quarrels and decisions can be made more efficiently. There will be a faster progression and more actions done towards development and the goals of the leader. Additionally, a reduced amount of quarrels and disagreements will allow laws and regulations to be passed more efficiently. If the dictator knew what the citizens wants and understands the needs and wants and the optimum goal and outcome of the country, then the leader may be capable of being a good leader and making good and righteous decisions for the country.
However on the other hand, Citizens become oppressed. Citizens have a limited amount of rights. Strict rules and laws will be reinforced by the leader in order to prevent others from gaining power. Disobedient citizens who disobey the orders of the leader or speak against the dictator will often be arrested. With such a great amount of powers at the hands of the dictator, the leader may choose to take actions that may be unfair towards the public in order to benefit himself. Such as biased laws and regulations that could be made. The leader can also reinforce unfair punishments that can be immoral as well.
Significance to Animal Farm
Russian revolution1. Stalin becoming soviet dictator in 1926.
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Animal Farm1. Napoleon succeeds Old Major
"The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig: but again: but already it was impossible to say which was which." |
Analysis
Dictatorship is the result of the failure of the Russian Revolution. Napoleon which is Stalin being the leader of the revolution, keep on changing things to suit his own interests, where in the novel, Napoleon changes the seven commandments one by one. Hence it turns from a system of equality into dictatorship. This major change in the novel reflects Orwell’s principal of double think, where two very different beliefs cause conflict in one's mind. In this case, it is communism and dictatorship. Communism is actually the complete oxymoron of dictatorship and in animal farm, however the pigs simultaneously accepts two mutually contradictory beliefs as correct and ultimately become the same as humans which is a symbolism of Dictatorship. This shows that there is only a fine line between the two extremes and very often, they do not work so well in a society.
Dictatorship did not appear very often in the novel until the end of it. I believe Orwell effectively used his language to reflect the helplessness of the people after the Russian Revolution as they did not expect this kind of ending. Through the part where the animals looked into the farm house, it reflects how the people of Russia during that time had no power to make any changes because it was them who first wanted a revolution. Moreover, when the animals looked at each other, this scene reflects their awkwardness towards the hypocrisy of the pigs who once rebelled against the human beings. At the end of the novel, orwell hints that there needs to be another revolution, meaning that this revolution was a failure and the dictatorship of Stalin would not work either.
1. Dictatorship. (2004). The Pros and Cons of a Dictatorship. Retrieved March 28th, from http://dictatorshipper9.blogspot.hk/2004/12/pros-and-cons-of-dictatorship.html
2. politicalsystems.Inc. (2013). What is a Dictatorship Government?. Retrieved March 28th, from http://www.politicalsystems.com/dictatorship.html
Dictatorship is the result of the failure of the Russian Revolution. Napoleon which is Stalin being the leader of the revolution, keep on changing things to suit his own interests, where in the novel, Napoleon changes the seven commandments one by one. Hence it turns from a system of equality into dictatorship. This major change in the novel reflects Orwell’s principal of double think, where two very different beliefs cause conflict in one's mind. In this case, it is communism and dictatorship. Communism is actually the complete oxymoron of dictatorship and in animal farm, however the pigs simultaneously accepts two mutually contradictory beliefs as correct and ultimately become the same as humans which is a symbolism of Dictatorship. This shows that there is only a fine line between the two extremes and very often, they do not work so well in a society.
Dictatorship did not appear very often in the novel until the end of it. I believe Orwell effectively used his language to reflect the helplessness of the people after the Russian Revolution as they did not expect this kind of ending. Through the part where the animals looked into the farm house, it reflects how the people of Russia during that time had no power to make any changes because it was them who first wanted a revolution. Moreover, when the animals looked at each other, this scene reflects their awkwardness towards the hypocrisy of the pigs who once rebelled against the human beings. At the end of the novel, orwell hints that there needs to be another revolution, meaning that this revolution was a failure and the dictatorship of Stalin would not work either.
1. Dictatorship. (2004). The Pros and Cons of a Dictatorship. Retrieved March 28th, from http://dictatorshipper9.blogspot.hk/2004/12/pros-and-cons-of-dictatorship.html
2. politicalsystems.Inc. (2013). What is a Dictatorship Government?. Retrieved March 28th, from http://www.politicalsystems.com/dictatorship.html