“Without honesty, democracy collapses into manipulation”. George Orwell’s famous comment is history now. I imagine virtually no voter on earth thinks democracy is widely honest. Nor, of course, is autocracy. The difference between them is that democracy allows freedom of choice whereas autocracy denies choice of freedom. At least, that’s supposed to be the case.
How have supposedly democratic societies slipped into an Orwellian state when we built so many guards for our political systems?
The answer is that we made measurement of success almost exclusively about money. While money’s importance is self-evident, it exists only as a symbol of goods and services. It is a concept of temporary power and possessions. Making it our primary measure – even for such traits as love, care, hope, art, beauty, affection and joy – elevates it to a status where only wealth matters. Human personality is more valuable than that. Moreover happiness, enduring search of every human being, is found as reward not entitlement. Regardless of any religious beliefs or lack of them, money cannot conjure or reflect spirituality.
What then is freedom’s true form?
Every human throughout history has tried to define it. Philosophers have added new thoughts and perspectives to the question. Religious leaders have presented solutions to the need of each of us to achieve Nirvana, ultimate liberation and peace. Many of these solutions were referred until after this life finished. Materialism presented a more immediate solution. If we could harness the elements we would have happiness.
There can be no more vivid example of this than today’s investment in energy production to power Alternative Intelligence. Why have we chosen to try to make a machine think rationally rather than enable fellow humans to do so? If some form of democracy is the ultimate goal of humans then putting the investment into teaching us about it would seem to enhance our species. AI seems inevitably to lead to a diminution of it.
It is, of course, a matter of personal judgment whether a world of robotic thinkers is better or worse than a world of diverse and opinionated humans. You won’t be surprised to learn that I favour the latter. Why? Because I have been fortunate that a small measure of creativity has allowed me to appreciate the non-material side of life as well as – possibly even more than – the material. I have one remaining wish in life: that others should enjoy the same feelings.
Orwell published 1984 in 1949. 1984, the year, came and went and the workable but never perfect order survived for another couple of decades. It is gone now. Since the book was published the greatest human achievement has been to get nearer to determining who we are. In the last few years we have started to look like a race moving inexorably back to the cave. At a time when we have the opportunity to become at least joint creators of a developed species we are losing our opportunity in search of previously unimagined wealth.
One generation’s, and certainly not one person’s, views should not dictate the future. We should offer the young the best options as we see them.
But the views must be honest and generous.
At present they appear dishonest and selfish.
Good morning
John Bittleston
18 February 2026
