George Orwell was a prophet who understood his times and his enemies. The purpose of this essay is to explore this Englishman and his impact on both the right and left. Most recently Christopher Hitchens explored Orwell's impact and his effect even today in his book, Why Orwell Matter?. Hitchens, who had his own epiphany as result of September 11th, finds that he is rescuing Orwell " from a pile of saccharine and moist hankees; an object of sickly veneration and sentimental overpraise."

Moral and mental glaciers slightly
Betray the influence of his warm intent
Because he taught what the actual meant
The vicious winter grips its prey less tightly

Robert Conquest

Robert Conquest's poem about Orwell signifies Orwell strength- telling the hard truth. He didn't flinch from the reality of the world or pretend what was not true was true. In the 30's, Orwell would discover the truth about Communism long before others in the intelligentsia did.

Orwell began his career working for His Majesty Government in Burma as a police but very shortly, he repudiated his country imperialism. As Hitchens write, "Orwell's decision to repudiate the unthinking imperialism that had been his family's meal ticket. (His father was an executive in the degrading opium trade between British India and China.) may be represented as Oedipal by those critics who prefer such avenues of inquiry. But it was thoroughgoing and, for it time, very advanced." Orwell first published piece dealt with how British tariffs were decimating Burma economy. Interesting the socialist Orwell first piece would be exploring how tariffs badly effected a third world country- in effect taking a free market view of trade. Throughout his life, this socialist saw the fallacy of state-ownership and centralization. Another aspect was Orwell obsession with power and sexual repression, whether in Burmese Days or 1984. (Orwell was not a libertine in his life and had rather conservative thoughts on sex including opposition to abortion and homosexuality. But he was no prude.)

Orwell own experiences with colonialism first hand led him to oppose imperialism and colonization. He sympathize with the natives and as Hitchens wrote, " His rooted opposition to imperialism is a strong and consistent theme throughout all his writings....in general he insisted that the whole colonial 'racket' was corrupting to the British and degrading to the colonized."

Orwell did understand the implication of growth of English on the South Asia continent. He wrote, "The growth...of an English language Indian literature is a strange phenomenon, and it will have its effect on the post-war world, if not on the outcome of war...at present English is to a great extent and business language of India."