![]() ![]() ![]() Newspeak sentences sound like assertions, but their underlying logic is that of the spell. The fundamental speech-act is only superficially represented by the assertoric grammar. Newspeak occurs whenever the primary purpose of language-which is to describe reality-is replaced by the rival purpose of asserting power over it. While it was Orwell who coined the term, “the capture of language by the left is far older, beginning with the French Revolution and its slogans.” The variety parodied by Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-Four was that of “the Socialist International and the eager engagement of the Russian intelligentsia,” but Newspeak is a worldwide phenomenon. One of the through-lines of Fools, Frauds, and Firebrands is the origin and development of Newspeak. If you read no further, at least least my recommendation of the book: it’s excellent. Rather than write a more traditional review of the book, I wanted to offer some choice bits. Last night I finished Fools, Frauds, and Firebrands: Thinkers of the New Left, a hefty critique of leftist philosophers and theorists. Since Sir Roger Scruton died in January, I have been on what I call the Roger Scruton Farewell Tour, reading those books of his that had until then sat unread on my shelf-and then some. ![]()
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