Over time, some “iconic” things somehow lose their original meaning, turn into clichés, and people start evaluating them from a clichéd perspective. Take Orwell and his 1984, with the phrase that runs like a leitmotif through the entire novel: “Big Brother is watching you.” This is how you will most likely encounter it in conversations and internet discussions. “Big Brother” has become a common noun, used to describe various real or supposed sources of propaganda and the like. It should be noted that a more accurate translation would be “The Elder Brother is watching you.” This version appears far less often, and the phrase “Elder Brother,” at least in our context, is generally used ironically in relation to Russia.
Frankly, something about this Big Brother remains unclear. He watches, he monitors — so what? The situation as commonly understood appears flat — like some cartoon conflict, a “bear and the bunny” affair. There is no subtlety to it, everything is clear and obvious: the wicked Big Brother has entrenched himself in power and keeps everyone under surveillance. It is immediately obvious that this is not good and that a decent person should do something about it.
Yet if the matter were truly so simple, the novel would not have provoked such shock and abuse from the leftists toward their former colleague. The translation of Orwell’s phrase, especially in its “internetted” version, utterly fails to convey the full meaning invested in it and even destroys it. On the other hand, it is this phrase, more than any other, that reveals the essence of all left-wing teachings and doctrines. So to the best of my modest abilities, I will try to convey how its meaning appears to me.
“Big Brother is watching you” actually describes a typical and recognizable situation: the elder brother is watching over the younger while the latter plays and is generally busy with his own affairs. The roles in this situation are clear. The Elder Brother knows how it should be done, he can help, he must monitor so that nothing goes wrong, he is responsible for the younger and, within the framework of this responsibility, can easily give him a beating. The younger brother is a priori foolish and helpless, his goals are insignificant, and his actions are subject to control for the purposes, of course, of his own safety.
The situation itself is quite positive within the family framework. The younger brother’s suffering is acceptable and explained by his age and inexperience. Orwell shows that the leftists transfer this model to society as a whole and says: this is what happens when proportions change and when something that works well in one system of relations is transferred to another. The notion of a person as a being who needs the “care of the Elder Brother” ultimately leads to the terrible consequences described in the novel. It is this clear analogy that provoked such anger among the leftists. But, I repeat, this role model fundamentally describes all left-wing doctrines. The difference between them is only the temperament of the Elder Brother. Elder Brother Pol Pot could easily wipe out more than half the country. Elder Brother Roosevelt simply organizes public works for you. But both of them know better what you need for your own good, of course.