“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”
– George Orwell

Born in 1903 as Eric Arthur Blair in British India, George Orwell remains one of the best-known writers of our times. He was an anti-totalitarian author, journalist, and essayist, and you don’t need to have read any of his works to know about his two most famous works Animal Farm and 1984. These still influence popular culture and are part of many school curricula providing the basis for lively discussions about ethics, morality, social criticism, and possible versions of the future. The terms he coined, such as “Big Brother” or “doublethink” and “thoughtcrime”, are also relevant nowadays and accompany us in our daily life. His writings are considered in many current social and political discourses regarding, for example, freedom of thought, expression and press, and privacy rights.

Orwell is definitely one of my favourite writers and thinkers because he articulated highly controversial topics which were relevant then and still are today. And he did so in a way that makes many feel uncomfortable and forces one to reflect on one’s own mindset. Certainly, one doesn’t need to agree with his writings but they provide an impetus that, I think, is very valuable. I’m a big fan of a social and political differentiated discourse and Orwell’s works are a wonderful food for thought.

So today we not only celebrate his birthday but also the freedom and liberties we enjoy in regard to our thoughts and actions, goods that we cannot value enough and shouldn’t take for granted.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, George!

Sarah-Sophia