"We are told that it is only people's objective actions that matter, and their subjective feelings are of no importance. Thus pacifists, by obstructing the war effort, are 'objectively' aiding the Nazis; and therefore the fact that they may be personally hostile to Fascism is irrelevant. I have been guilty of saying this myself more than once. The same argument is applied to Trotskyism...To criticize the Soviet Union helps Hitler: therefore "Trotskyism is Fascism". And when this has been established, the accusation of conscious treachery is usually repeated. This is not only dishonest; it also carries a severe penalty with it. If you disregard people's motives, it becomes much harder to foresee their actions."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
"As I Please," Tribune (8 December 1944)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Related Quotes
"The Party taught that the proles were natural inferiors who must be kept in subjection, like animals, by the applicat…"
"Everything will be dead inside you. Never again will you be capable of love, or friendship, or joy of living, or laug…"
"By 'patriotism' I mean devotion to a particular place and a particular way of life, which one believes to be the best…"
"In England, a century of strong government has developed what O. Henry called the stern and rugged fear of the police…"
"Spending the night out of doors has nothing attractive about it in London, especially for a poor, ragged, undernouris…"
"And once, in spite of the men who gripped him by each shoulder, he stepped slightly aside to avoid a puddle on the pa…"
"This means no more than vae victis - woe to the creed that is not backed by machine-guns!"
"To the well-fed it seems cowardly to complain of tight boots, because the well-fed live in a different world-a world …"
"What is needed is the right to print what one believes to be true, without having to fear bullying or blackmail from …"
"[T]here is something wrong with a regime that requires a pyramid of corpses every few years."