Intro/Chapters 1-2
My name is Andy Dorsel and I am a swimmer here at Bucknell. While I am taking a Tolkien and Lewis course, there very well may have been the first words of Lewis I have ever read. Because you do not know me well I must use consistent and accepted language to tell you, unlike the work of Gaius and Titius in The Green Book. Lewis rips apart the work of Gaius and Titius in the first chapter of The Abolition of Man, saying that their language was inconsistent and they often broke their own established rules. They established the rule that adjectives or adverbs must be directly related to the nouns or verbs they are connected with. Lewis uses an example that during the time of Romans it was “sweet and seemly” to die for ones country. Lewis argued that this would not follow Gaius’ and Titius’ guidelines because death can not physically be sweet. In the second chapter, Lewis switches for the literary imperfections to the theoretical wrongdoings. He says The Green Book is a work of the past because those that believed it are now gone and the philosophy has been disproven.
Chapter 3/Appendix & Chapter 1-2
The Abolition of Man and That Hideous Strength touch on similar topics, because they both mention the ability to control others. In That Hideous Strength, one of the three major problems that the corporation is trying to find a solution for. They decided that many humans are inferior and need to be removed to purify the population. As a contemporary of Adolf Hitler and finishing this book at the end of World War 2, these views were obviously inspired by current events. The corporation not only wants to rid the world of certain races, but also control the education of their people so they will follow their every word. This is the definition of totalitarianism. In The Abolition of Man, Lewis says “the power of some men to make other men what they please” when talking about the power structure of man and nature (Lewis 31-32). Having control over others is what many strive for and Lewis mentions it in many of his works because it was a major problem in his era. Both books speak on men trying to control others and the power struggles this creates. It is curious that men strive to control others when oftentimes they can not even control themselves. In That Hideous Strength scientists “are working this Notice-Board in a room rather like the tube control rooms” just because there is a gadget that interests them (Lewis 28). A small this is distracting them from their main efforts of works just because it is a new invention. These scientists can not control themselves and they are trying to control others. In The Abolition of Man chapter 3 starts with a man saying “Man has Nature whacked” stating that man is now in control of nature itself (Lewis 28). What is ironic about this statement is that the man that said this was dying of tuberculosis. Confidence is the killer of many. While man is trying to control man they do not even have control over nature. In the 21st century this can be seen through the effects of global warming and COVID-19. Instead of working together to tame nature they are fighting amongst each other for who has power over the other. It is a rough cycle of constant fighting and little to no progress. Climate change has been a topic for decades and no actions have been taken in any direction. In the books written in the 1940’s man tries to control man, and not much has changed in the 21st century.
Chapters 3-7 & Chapters 3-4
Both Google and N.I.C.E. use censorship of the media, because it allows them to control others thoughts and opinions. After recently buying control of the city N.I.C.E. uses their power to make their people think that the transition is going smoothly, while really many are protesting and becoming violent. By not letting the newspaper report on these protests they cannot gain traction for the people’s movement. Those that saw the acts tried to spread the word but because it did not make the news others “dismissed the stories as rumours or exaggerations” (Lewis 119). N.I.C.E. can spin the news to say anything they want and make life seem better under their control. Controlling the news is one of the most important steps in gaining totalitarian control. Google does something similar, while not physically controlling lives they can use their platform to impact decisions of others. They collect information and systematically distribute it to sell products for those that pay them. The first links when searching on Google are ads for companies that pay for spots. Google has cornered the market on all things related to computers and in today’s world “there is a computer in the middle of virtually every transaction” (Zuboff 3). The use of computers allows for Google to track purchases around the world and market to specific people. They sell products through the surveillance of the people they are targeting. Google could censor certain products with the click of a button if they wanted to. Just like that they will no longer show up on searches. Not only is this true for products being purchased, but also the news the people are reading. Online news is the modern world and, just like product sellers, news companies can pay to be the first link available. Those that click on links are mono tiered and future news will be catered to them based on past clicks.
Chapters 8-12 & Pages 225-252
The morality of humans is what differentiates them from other animals. Lewis and Scruton both speak on what separates humans from others, because morality and consciousness are keys to human life. In That Hideous Strength, scientists preform an experiment where when “[they] cut off a cat’s head… [they] can keep the head going a bit” by using artificial methods (Lewis 178). The scientist do not describe the head as alive, because they say even though the head may have retained all motor functions it is not truly alive. While they were able to successfully complete the experiment on various animals, it was never able to be accomplished in humans. The scientists were curious on how this would impact the consciousness of the human the procedure was preformed on. The inability to complete the surgery shoes the differences between humans and other animals. Also, the one time it was attempted on humans it was done by a German scientist on enemies, for which he believed he had no moral obligation. The scientist now believe that it would be strictly against their morals to before such experiments on other humans. In How to Think Seriously About the Planet, Scruton speaks on what life is and how people’s interactions with the world change their views. He describes life as having “concepts of functional, moral, aesthetic and spiritual kinds… for example, the concepts of house, tool, friend, home, music; the noble, the majestic, the sacred; legality, politeness, justice” (Scruton 243). These are concepts that other creatures do not possess and explain the rational behind many human decisions. He goes on the talk about what makes someone a friend or foe, and how relationships drastically impact interactions. People naturally respect others, showing morals and empathy, unless they have been wronged by this person, or believe they are an enemy. They will break certain ethical barriers because they believe that the other human involved has lost their rights.
Essay 1 Outline
Title – Never Ending Totalitarianism: How Control has Continued from the 40’s to the 2000’s.
Thesis – N.I.C.E. uses fear, censorship, and a false sense of trust to rise to power, satirizing Nazi Germany, and because of technology, the modern world.
The focus of the paper will be the tactics of N.I.C.E and how they are able to take over the lives of other easily. Lewis uses N.I.C.E. to speak on the actions of Hitler and Germany in the 40’s. The paper will compare the organization to the German regime. It will also connect the paper to Zuboff’s work, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, specifically the section on Google. The paper will talk about the use of fear, censorship, and trust to control others, and how even today similar tactics are used to gain power.
- Chapter 6 Section 4 – This section shows the censorship and control of the media in action.
- Chapter 2 Section 1 – This section begins the explanation of N.I.C.E.’s plan to gain power and how they will do it.
Chapters 13-17 & pg. 253-291
Friendship is a concept that many do not question, and instead live their lives with their friends unbothered by the thought of what they truly are. Friendships are an important part of who people are, and because of this many decisions are made because of those who people keep around them. In chapter 8 of How to Think Seriously About the Planet, Scruton talks about what friends truly are and how people should not take advantage of their friends. It is true that “friendship is supremely useful, so long as we do not think of it as useful” because friends should be natural and not a business dealing (Scruton 254). Once someone knows that a friendship is useful it is no longer about just having fun and getting along, it is about using them for as much personal gain as possible. Using someone is the easiest way to lose friends. In That Hideous Strength, the workers of N.I.C.E. know the struggle of having friendships that are strictly business. Earlier in the book, while hiring they described N.I.C.E. as a family where the employees are very close and they take care of each other. In reality it is a cutthroat business which views their employees as pawns that are just a means to an end. They perform scientific experiments with the other employees where “things he had to do were merely meaningless” (286-287). N.I.C.E. created an environment where workers are competing with one another. Just as Scruton said they found out that their friends are useful. The discovery of this may lead to the downfall of the company, because the workers are becoming less useful as they realize others can be used. The overlap between Scruton and Lewis books shows the importance of this message, even across decades and generations.
Essay 1
Never Ending Totalitarianism: How Control has Continued from the 40’s to the 2000’s
Andy Dorsel
One false move and you are exiled, imprisoned, or killed. While this may seem completely foreign and surreal, countless people live their lives with this thought constantly running through their heads in the book That Hideous Strength. In That Hideous Strength, by C.S. Lewis, NICE uses aspects of totalitarianism such as terror, censorship, deception, and the permanent lie in order to rise to power, which connects with the power dynamic described in The Abolition of Man, and Zuboff’s description of modern totalitarianism.
The fear of punishment from a totalitarian regime keeping them from ever stepping out of line. Regimes that commit these acts have been around constantly for centuries, with many notable ones falling less than 50 years ago. The classic examples are Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, who both had extreme punishments for the civilians who made a wrong turn Solzhenitsyn’s book, Gulag Archipelago, describes the conditions that the citizens of the USSR experienced, with the constant threat of imprisonment. The leaders used fear as their method to control others, where people would watch their neighbors, friends, and family imprisoned for the smallest slip up. Another regime that had similar punishments was the Nazi’s and their concentration camps. Being in the 1940s the German regime was a contemporary of C.S. Lewis, who wrote That Hideous Strength as a statement on the events he saw occurring around him. In this book, it is obvious that Lewis is critical of totalitarianism and the Nazis. He bases the book around a scientific organization that is trying to rule the world, and rid it of weaker people. These views are drawing off the Third Riech’s plan of controlling others and eliminating the Jewish population. These obvious overlaps prove that Lewis thought the ideas of totalitarianism and controlling others had huge flaws. The ideas of totalitarianism have continued across the decades and can even be seen in today’s technology. While it is not as obvious as a dictator ruling a country, modern technology shows signs of controlling people just like these regimes. Zuboff talks about the dangers of technology and technocracy in her book, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism. The main points are about how technology is so big, and used in so many things, that it is impossible to escape or live without. The collection of these books all show the negative effects that totalitarianism can have on a society.
Fear is the most straightforward method of gaining power, which makes it an easy choice for totalitarian regimes such as N.I.C.E. Their main goal is to create a super state where they have complete control over all operations. The Abolition of Man was written by C.S. Lewis during the events of World War II and many connections can be made between the two regimes. Fear was a major factor in the methods of Hitler’s control of Germany, and his method of instilling fear was finding a common enemy for his people to fight against. In chapter 2, NICE uses fear to get other to do what they want. Their goal is to get others to do work for them through total control. The scientist describes them as “the people on has to use to get things done” while he is complaining about how they resist (Lewis 29). These scientists blatant disregard for human life show where their true priorities lay. In The Abolition of Man, Lewis, again, touches on the topic of control over others. He states that the goal of some men is to reach a state where they have “the power of… to make other men do what they please” (Lewis 31-32). Making others do what they please are what many totalitarian leaders strive for, the thrill of power makes them hungry for more. This makes leader take actions that are not for the good of the people but instead for their own self pride.
Deception is one of the keys to having control over others. While NICE’s true intentions were very sinister and mean, they are able to get civilians to join their cause by no telling the public their goals. The scientist put on a face for the public, and often their own workers, so that they could maintain power. They frame themselves as the good side saying that their people were killed “for being on [their] side. The murderer is one of the enemy” (Lewis 31). By splitting the battle into two sides, and making themselves seem like the good side, the scientists were able to get the civilians on their side. Little do the people know, these scientists were trying to kill or control all of them. They spread their false message not only through spoken word but also the media. By controlling the media, they are able to portray themselves to the public in a positive light, gaining their trust. The famous quote “winners write history” is proven because the group in power is able to write their point of view and spin stories. By getting other to believe they were fighting for the good side the company was able to grow stronger. This is a cruel method that can be seen in totalitarian regimes throughout history.
Making people feel superior to others is an effective way to gain their trust and get them on their side. Everyone like the feeling of winning, or being better, and this tactic was used in both Nazi Germany and NICE. The Nazis made the Aryan race feel superior to others, and once they had the power of being better, they did not want to lose it. To make their civilians feel better than others the scientists had the idea to start with “sterilization of the unfit, liquidation of backward races” (Lewis 32). The remaining civilians would feel that they are fit and worthy of being part of the regime, similar to how Aryans thought they were better than Jewish people. Creating a self-monitoring hierarchy makes the job of the totalitarian leaders much easier. Each class of people will watch over each other making sure the balance of power does not swing. A famous example of a hierarchy is the caste system in India. The English used this system to reign over the people while they fought amongst themselves. The English control over India was a terrible era that has lasting effects on the people there to this day. These totalitarian methods are harmful to the people and their country.
The scientists at NICE are extremely power hungry and will stop at nothing to rule over and control others. Not only do they want to create a totalitarian society, where the people have no choices and the scientists make all decision, but they want to use their experiments to physically control their people. The scientists describe this as “biochemical conditioning… and direct manipulation of the brain” where they would have complete control (Lewis 32). Throughout history striving for power has been the downfall of countless people, especially the leaders of totalitarian regimes. Most people have morals and when they see people being mistreated, they react strongly. In Scruton’s work, How to Think Seriously About the Planet, He touches on what morality is and how it affects people’s lives. He explains that life has “concepts of house, tool, friend, home, music; the noble, the majestic, the sacred; legality, politeness, [and] justice” which make up the foundation of human nature (Scruton 243). Regimes that mistreat their people cannot last because of these morals that are constantly present in their citizens. While the leaders may push aside their morals for, what they think is, a greater purpose, people will always fight back when terrible actions are committed. These leaders o not have morals, while the citizens do. The totalitarian leaders do not properly represent the view of their people, and take actions the citizens never would. These discrepancies are the reason that these leaders are harmful to the countries.
Censorship is extremely important in the methods of maintaining power in a totalitarian society. Often times the first priority of leaders will be controlling the media so that both those in the country and outside of it believe all is well. In chapter 6 of That Hideous Strength, NICE uses their control of the press to its fullest form, completely swaying the thoughts of their people. Rumors would spread about uprising against the regime, but with no media coverage people “dismissed the stories as rumors or exaggerations” (Lewis 119). How are people supposed to work together when they are unable to plan anything. Similar censorship could be seen in the Nazi party, where all news was controlled by them, and even mail sent to others was checked for treasonous activity. The advancements of technology have made censorship both easier and more difficult. On one side word spread across the globe in an instant, but on the other governments and companies can track everything done online. In The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Zuboff focuses on Google and how they track data. Technology made tracking data easy, because “there is a computer in the middle of basically every transaction” (Zuboff 3). While data collected is usually used for specially targeted ads and other ways to make people buy more products, it shows the true potential of what could happen. Large technology companies have enormous stores of personal data which could be exposed and change many lives. They could also censor any media they disagree with, by simply having it not show up during searches. N.I.C.E. uses their censorship to control the public’s view of their company, and Google could easily do the same. The acts of censorship are bad for these countries because people cannot express what they truly believe. Also, the leaders controlling the media allows for false news to be spread extremely easily. The totalitarianism ways of censorship and control of the media are terrible for countries because the thoughts of the people cannot be heard.
Totalitarian leaders go to extreme length to reach their goals, stopping at nothing. Their citizens are puppets to them, that can used and disposed of with little to no consequence. This thought process can be seen in The Abolition of Man as they say “of course there are casualties on the winning as well as on the losing side. but that doesn’t alter the fact that it is winning” (Lewis 28). The goal is to win, not survive or be happy, just win. Totalitarian leaders are terrible for their citizens because they believe this one thing, that winning is more important than the lives and happiness of their people. NICE does the exact same, where they are trying to win, and reach their goal, but do not care at all about the safety of their people. They even go as far as to plan riots and attacks in their own cities. NICE tries to keep this as a secret until people start to “say these disturbances have been ENGINEERED,” exposing the devious nature of the company (Lewis 119). This proves that totalitarian regimes are not taking actions for the good of the people but instead for their end goal. In NICE’s case this is complete physical control over the citizens. Totalitarian leaders are bad for their countries because they do not have the same goals as the citizens who live there.
The history of Lewis’ life played an important role in his thoughts on totalitarianism and where it belonged in society. He grew up very well educated and went to university, but he did have to fight in World War 1. During this he fought, and lost a close friend, against Germany, which at the time was ruled over by a dictator, which may have been the beginning of his negativity again regimes. While he was not originally religious, he became good friends with another famous writer, Tolkien, who helped convert him. Many religious messages and themes can be found throughout his works. He wrote That Hideous Strength while Germany was at full strength during World War II, as a commentary on how they ruled over their people and treated them. In his book it shows the dark negative side of a totalitarian state, where the people have no choice, they live in constant fear, and there is no way to freedom. His disapproval of such states is very evident as he portrays NICE as a terrible organization, with evil leaders and goals that kill many.
If Lewis was alive today, he would hate the technocracy that society has fallen into. Everyone and everything uses technology is such a way that it is impossible to escape or get rid of it. Every transaction, online search, and note written down can be found and tracked online. This is extremely scary, as just a few large technology companies hold such a large part of the data. Often times news comes out about data leaked or companies selling personal data, but the people cannot do anything about it, because it is not like they can simply give up technology and not use it anymore. It is such an engrained part of society that there is no escape and the people just have to hope that all of their data is secure and not being released to others. The technocracy is bad for society, because the people are living in fear, unable to express themselves or fight back in any way.
The works of Lewis show the terrible effects of living in a totalitarian regime. Some of these can be seen in the technology of today. The events of the past impacted Lewis’ works and compelled him to write about the dangers these regimes have on society. They use many methods to restrict their people, making them constantly fear for their life, and unable to stand up for themselves or one another. If people have to live in fear in order for the leaders to stay in power, they are obviously not taking actions that are good for the people. Totalitarian regimes are often not legally voted for, hence why may times they do not have the same views as the people. NICE is a perfect example of this, where they gained power through the use of fear and controlling the media. They made others seem like the enemy to gain power and then started their goal of killing the weak and controlling the rest of the population. Being killed and controlled is clearly not what the population wants but NICE makes decisions for their own good instead. Totalitarianism is only good for the leaders because when they have complete control, they take actions that only benefit themselves and treat the civilians like pawns in their game.
Works Cited
Lewis, C. S. That Hideous Strength. Bodley Head, 1945.
Lewis, C. S. The Abolition of Man. Kings College, 1943.
Scruton, Roger. Green Philosophy: How to Think Seriously About the Planet. Atlantic Books, 2014.
Solzhenit︠s︡yn Aleksandr Isaevich. The Gulag Archipelago. Vintage Classics, 2018.
Zuboff, Shoshana. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. PublicAffairs, 2020.