Whether as Eric Blair (his birth name) or George Orwell (his pen name), Blair-Orwell was decidedly a man of the left.Īs an occasionally frustrated Peter Stansky concedes, Blair-Orwell changed his mind more than occasionally about many things. Especially for the young.ĭuring the Cold War both left and right of all ages sought to stake a claim to Orwell. For Orwell-and Peter Stansky-life as a “socialist patriot” was neither a contradiction in terms nor an oxymoron. Less a brief biography than a lengthy essay, this study by Orwell scholar Peter Stansky should give those on the left and right much to ponder-and not just about Orwell the writer, but about Orwell the example as well. The Socialist Patriot: George Orwell and War by Peter Stansky (130 pages, Stanford University Press, 2023) Does the “socialist-patriot” George Orwell offer a model for us today? Specifically for the young-of left or right-for whom Peter Stansky’s book is likely meant to serve as an introduction of sorts?
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