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I like Orwell a lot, especially as a political writer. I do think Newspeak would have got a rethink if Orwell had lived today though; as irritating as algospeak words like 'unalived', 'sewer slide' etc are to read they demonstrate that exerting thought control through language isn't as straightforward as what's portrayed in Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Authorities can certainly damage the general ability to express concepts they disapprove of, but people naturally recognise that censorship impairs their ability to express themselves and actively work around it, rather than just forgetting the concepts.



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