Orwell: Politics and the English Language

Orwell: Politics and the English Language

An essay on writing, with some helpful reminders of how modern writing hides meaning in favour of ready-made phrases and clichés. Orwell talks about how politics necessarily destroys language because hiding the truth is the natural of political speech.

I've thought much about language and communication styles lately, as I ponder why government work is so shockingly inefficient. People who work in government, particularly management positions, are skilled at obfuscating messages for the sake of covering their ass, and casting blame on others without actually offending anyone. This kind of talk is difficult to listen to, and many people get in the habit of not actually listening, but waiting for their turn to talk. I've heard that people talk about "processes" when they're avoiding talking about people, and I think this is true. In a similar vein, I would say the more words people use, and the more complicated their message seems, the less they actually know.