George Orwell on Freedom
1903–1950
← All quotes by George Orwell
9 quotes
If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.
The fallacy is to believe that under a dictatorial government you can be free inside.
As I Please (1943)
Threats to freedom of speech, writing and action, though often trivial in isolation, are cumulative in their effect and, unless checked, lead to a general disrespect for the rights of the citizen.
Take away freedom of speech, and the creative faculties dry up.
As I Please (1943)
At any given moment there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question.
The only salvation lies in returning to an unplanned economy, free competition, and emphasis on liberty rather than on security.
Since pacifists have more freedom of action in countries where traces of democracy survive, pacifism can act more effectively against democracy than for it. Objectively the pacifist is pro-Nazi.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)
Without a free press and the right of assembly, it is impossible not merely to appeal to outside opinion, but to bring a mass movement into being, or even to make your intentions known to your adversary.