Some Animals are More Equal than Others

The early twentieth century saw the escalation of war and the rise of totalitarian regimes hidden beneath the ideology of socialism. The earlier part of the century had seen the first global war which ultimately led to the Russian revolution in 1917. World War I had made apparent Russia’s industrial, technological, and administrative ineptitude. After the deaths of several million Russians as casualties of war, the people demanded an end to Russia’s participation in the war. This, coupled with severe rationing of food, led ultimately to demonstrations, strikes, and the forced abdication of the Russian Tsar. A provisional government, headed by the Duma, eventually led to a civil war and Lenin’s rise to power. After his death, power struggles between Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky resulted in Trotsky’s expulsion from the country and Stalin’s own reign of terror. Such was the world to which George Orwell, author of Animal Farm, alluded in his satire on the Russian revolut...