Power, Inequality, and Truth: What we can learn from Animal Farm
Three lessons learned from Orwell’s masterpiece
I recently read Animal Farm and was blown away by how relatable the story is. A friend of mine recommended the novel during our discussion about power and politics. I never read it when I was young, so I thought I’d give it a try. It is a really short novel — if you haven’t read it or it has been a while since the last time you read it, I highly recommend you to read it (again).
Animal farm by George Orwell was written based on events that took place in 1917. Some said it is an allegory of the Russian Revolution. It tells the story of class struggle, the abuse of power, and the ideas of freedom. These themes are very much relevant to today's context. Not so much about real battle or war. But about everyday life that we have taken for granted.
Short synopsis: the story starts with the rebellion of the animals to get free from human tyranny. Once they kicked out the humans, the pigs begin to take control because they are said to be the smartest animals. Since the revolt, the animals are happier because they are working for the benefits of themselves. Little do they know that there is no improvement in their life. With total authority and trust, the leader pig, Napoleon, ends up exploiting the animals through force and fears. In the end, Napoleon abuses his power, and the animals are not better off (if anything, they are worse off) than before the revolt.
About power
Power can be defined as one’s ability to influence someone else to do something that they would otherwise not do. More formally, I like the definition set out by Max Weber in his book ‘Economy and Society’: power is the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance.
Scholars define three dimensions of power. What I love about Animal Farm is the fact that you can clearly see each of these three dimensions of power in action.
One-dimensional power is mentioned in the work of Robert Dahl. It is the power that can be observed openly, done by one person to another directly. Perhaps the most common form of power that we can think of. This includes the act of convincing others, influencing others, and mobilising support. We can think of this as the most obvious type of power. For example, the one demonstrated by Farmer Jones towards the animals before the rebellion and by Squealer (Napoleon’s right-hand)towards the animals after the rebellion. Sometimes it involves coercion. But most of the time it is the act of influencing others.
“Squealer spoke so persuasively, and the three dogs who happened to be with him growled so threateningly, that they accepted his explanation without further questions.”
Two-dimensional power is mentioned in the work of Bachrach and Baratz. Power is not merely the direct behaviour of influencing others, but also the ability to manipulate the choices available. It is about the indirect decision-making process. Rather than forcing people to choose certain acts, power in this context is the ability to limit the scope, prevent participation from the opposition, and orchestrate the agenda. We see this in the way Napoleon chases Snowball (you can think of him as the leader of the opposition) out of the farms so that the animals do not have any other alternatives but to follow his lead. We also see this in the way the pigs limit the decision-making within a committee of pigs.
“In future all questions relating to the working of the farm would be settled by a special committee of pigs, presided over by himself. These would meet in private and afterwards communicate their decisions to the others”
Lastly, three-dimensional power is mentioned in the work of Steven Lukes. He called this ‘ideological power’, the capacity to shape people’s beliefs and preferences. Perhaps the most dangerous form of power. It is not through coercion or limiting one’s options, but through changing their belief system. People mistook their own self-interest with that of the aristocrats. People do not realise they are being controlled and yet happily doing the work for others. Often, this is done through propaganda and framing. Ignorance is a powerful tool indeed, which is why education is often said to be an important aspect of democracy. If we allow one person to possess this type of power, they can turn democracy to dictatorship easily. We see this happen throughout the story — the belief system that was gradually built by Napoleon.
“And yet the animals never gave up hope. More, they never lost, even for an instant, their sense of honour and privilege in being members of Animal Farm. They were still the only farm in the whole county — in all England! — owned and operated by animals….Their hearts swelled with imperishable pride”
We can’t fight back if we don’t know what we are fighting for. If you are interested in finding out more, this video explains the three dimensions of power very well.
About inequality and class
“All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than other”
Towards the end of the story, the seven commandments that has guided the life of the animals since the revolt was changed into a single commandment (above). It is fascinating how simple inequality and the separation of the different classes were created. It does not start with inherent disparities, but it begins with small little changes that are built over time. For instance, when the pigs started to take advantage of other animals.
“So it was agreed without further argument that the milk and the windfall apples … should be reserved for the pigs alone”
And started to abuse their power and to create the make-believe differences that slowly turns into reality.
“Squaler the pig explain that higher level creatures have endless work in the supervision and organisation of the farm, much of this work was of a kind that the other animals were too ignorant to understand.”
Small things start to build up to become norms. This is what we called ‘normalisation’. Michel Foucault is famous for this theory. Normalisation explains a process through which we construct an idealised norm of conduct. It is a process when we create the new ‘normal’, even when it might previously oppose the old one. Foucault gives examples in his book “Madness and Civilisation” about the institutionalization of insanity. He argues that during the Renaissance period, people with mental illness were considered ‘different’ rather than ‘crazy’ — they are seen to possess a certain kind of wisdom. However, in the mid-seventeenth century, people began to consider them as a threat that needs to be separated from others and as a sickness that needs to be cured. Do watch this video if you are interested to learn more about Foucault.
This process of normalisation is what I perceive as the beginning of inequality. First, the different class of animals is created based on imaginary differences. And then bit by bit, the reinforcement starts to turn imaginary into real differences.
“Neither pigs or dogs produced any food by their own labour….Lower animals on Animal Farm did more work and received less food than any animals in the country.”
Does this sound familiar?
About truth
So, what is truth indeed?
I think there is no single universal truth. The only truth is whatever you choose to believe. In the novel, seven commandments are initially thought to be the one and only truth. But we learned throughout the story that truth is easily altered.
Here are the original seven commandments:
- Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
- Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
- No animal shall wear clothes.
- No animal shall sleep in a bed.
- No animal shall drink alcohol.
- No animal shall kill any other animal.
- All animals are equal.
By the end of the story, all commandments have been altered to suits the interest of those in power. Before this, I briefly mentioned the change to the last commandment about equality. Other examples on the amendment are:
“Four legs good, two legs BETTER”
“No animal shall drink alcohol TO EXCESS”
“No animals shall kill any other animal WITHOUT CAUSE”
I was mesmerised by how easy it is to adapt the truth. And I personally think it is not because the animal is unintelligent, but it is just the reality of truth. All it takes is enough people to believe.
Not even history could run away from this concept. Whatever happens in the past is the reality. But the truth is whatever people choose to believe has happened. In the novel, Napoleon keeps insisting on changing history, and after the initial resistance from the other animals, he succeeded.
“Our Leader, Comrade Napoleon,” announced Squealer, speaking very slowly and firmly, “has stated categorically — categorically, comrade — that Snowball was Jones’s agent from the very beginning — yes, and from long before the Rebellion was ever thought of.”
“Ah, that is different!” said Boxer. “If Comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right.”
We see only what we want to see. We believe only what we want to believe.
