Christopher Hitchens on George Orwell
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 พ.ย. 2020
- I took this from another youtube channel, improved the sound considerably because it was hard to listen to in its original form and re-posted it.
Great stuff from the much missed Hitch.
don't ever delete this priceless masterpiece of intellect.
I miss Christopher Hitchens. But am very grateful that there are so many recordings of him available.
Atheists offer no hope. So sad. If all one hopes for are the things of this world, they are blind spiritually because God/Jesus has so much more to offer than what we can see.
A number of his writings are as captivating as his best recordings. Hitch-22, Arguably and 'Love, Poverty and War' are unmissable. Also quite a few of what I consider his finest essays, haven't been compiled in a book yet. For example his review of Ian McEwan's Chesil Beach, and his reflections on being robbed of his voice by the illness that eventually felled him.
@@d.mavridopoulos66 His worse illness was unbelief. The sin of unbelief.
Mark 8:36
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Hitches Read books and talked a lot with a posh accent.
Orwell took up arms.
The writings are the best legacy of all
One always goes away from Hitchens feeling the better for it, having learned something and having some more reading to do. I miss him.
Except when you do that and then you feel incredibly depressed because you know how far away from him idiot govt. has gotten.
Liked both comment and reply as both are simultaneously conflicting and true.
One does! One is always intellectually refreshed after listening to a master of linguistics!
Atheists offer no hope. So sad. If all one hopes for are the things of this world, they are blind spiritually because God/Jesus has so much more to offer than what we can see.
@@paulgemme6056 well... one can have no faith but can also hope there is something more than our life on Earth.
Orwell is my favourite writer. A man gifted in his ability to identify the psychological conditions that lead to political tyranny. He better than anyone can predict tyranny before it happens.
With a little help from Yevgeni Zamyatin...
Orwell is also one of my favorite authors, but he wasn’t an oracle. He was writing what he saw, what he knew was happening in his time. He wasn’t predicting the future. It’s up to us to face our current circumstances and to identify the hoodlums and fascists worming their way into power with lies and violence.
@@MarcosElMalo2 I have a hard time picking a writer I appreciate more than Orwell. Yes, he wrote what he saw and lived, but it's a shame that readers aren't compelled to read his other works beyond "AF" & 1984. "Keep the Aspidistra Flying" is one of his very best
@@MarcosElMalo2 History repeating itself.
@@vaseofflowers4619 As of now, tyranny is so close to breaking down the doors of our ability to have critical thinking, Orwell is more relevant as each month passes. In January, would we have even believed that in February, Trudeau would be freezing banking accounts to the blue collar truck driver? Not in the least. March of 2022 is going to bring more totalitarian acts now unthinkable in The West.
I'm of indian ancestry and have read Burmese Days and I think it's a book way ahead of its time Orwell was a visionary a literary genius
Orwell has long been a hero of mine nad dear Hitchens has more recently become one. Now I discover this book, sheer heaven.
Thanks for improving, and sharing, always great to hear Christopher Hitchens talk about something/someone he admired.
Through Christopher Hitchens I have listened to so many others by audio book . I am now a completely different man a better man
How I wish we still had Christopher Hitchens to help illuminate our current challenges with his brilliant insights.
Atheists offer no hope. So sad. If all one hopes for are the things of this world, they are blind spiritually because God/Jesus has so much more to offer than what we can see.
I say old bat ! Thank you for putting this up !
Always one of the best things is to listen to Hitchens.
And he's never sounded better, thanks to your effort.
Hear Hear!
Old bat. ha
Hitchens talking about Orwell ... it doesn't get any better than that!! Thanks for posting this audio interview SS.
We need Hitchens around these days...
Atheists offer no hope. So sad. If all one hopes for are the things of this world, they are blind spiritually because God/Jesus has so much more to offer than what we can see.
Thanks, Sam, for making the clarity of the audio match the clarity of Christopher Hitchens' mind and words.
Mrs Richards: "I paid for a room with a view !"
Basil: (pointing to the lovely view) "That is Torquay, Madam."
Mrs Richards: "It's not good enough!"
Basil: "May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically past?..."
Mrs Richards: "Don't be silly! I expect to be able to see the sea !"
Basil: "You can see the sea, it's over there between the land and the sky."
Mrs Richards: "I'm not satisfied. But I shall stay. But I expect a reduction."
Basil: "Why?! Because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment ?"
Wow. Great interview. Very informative and INTENSE
Yes.
Sam Seal, thank you for improving and posting this.
This interview is ageing like a great Bordeaux Red.
Wonderful interview. As always with Hitch, one comes away with more questions than answers.
This is a great upload...thanks for taking the time to bring it to life \o/
Atheists offer no hope. So sad. If all one hopes for are the things of this world, they are blind spiritually because God/Jesus has so much more to offer than what we can see.
Thanks for improving the audio. Hitchens is so needed today. The current state of the world; particularly the U.S. being under threat by higher degree of political corruption, corporate media propaganda and critical theory ideology that is eroding western culture and values.
Where did Hitchens claim to be defending western culture?
@@gamerknown yeah exactly
@@gamerknown one can criticise western culture, without wanting to destroy it. He did not really need to defend it from its enemies, as it is self-evidently better than others. It does have its faults, though, particularly now with the trend towards the corporates getting involved in social and governmental issues.
@@KLM738XO "particularly now": do you know how corporatism manifested in its apogee in Italy? Western culture is self-evidently better than other enemies of Hitchens?
Orwell & Hitchens: clear thinking that's necessary & inspirational. Hooray 👍👍
Can’t get enough Hitch lately.
Agreed.
I can imagine his response to our situation today...
Me too and it's going to get worse.
Atheists offer no hope. So sad. If all one hopes for are the things of this world, they are blind spiritually because God/Jesus has so much more to offer than what we can see.
The more we go forward the more Orwell is being proved right
I find myself thinking about him more and more. Especially the doublespeak amd think are soooo relevant today
Absolutely
@@DennisNeijmeijer Newspeak is rampant today.
@@Johnconno well, we're moving forward toward fascism, as he predicted & warned about
@@donnagaffney6467 I think somedy in the near future democracy is going to be taken away from us with a thunderous applaude
Thank you for your successful efforts to improve this video; an important discussion.
Hitchens and Orwell were two great intellects most of the human race will never appreciate
Neither were intellectuals. They were both hacks. Orwell was a vile antisemite (take a look in Down and Out in Paris and London) and had some cranky views. He predicted the British empire would evolve into a federation of socialist states. As for Hitchens, he was a drunk and an advocate for the second Gulf War. Neither are worth reading. Hitchens' antipathy to Islam is probably because alcohol is taboo.
I just thank god for the super-intelligent elite like you who understand all the deep ideas that most of the human race cannot?!?
@@geoffpoole483 yes...2 wankers 😁
“You may not accept the idea of an utterly objective truth, but if you abandon it altogether you’ll never as a result be capable of recognizing a lie.” Orwell’s legacy brilliantly condensed in one sentence…
Just as so many others have already said, "Thanks for taking the time".
Excellent listening. I found this interesting and informative. Thank you.
I still think about the guy from time to time. He had mass knowledge and was able to pin point a date and event in detail like no other that I have ever seen.
I miss Hitchens…
Too bad he let advancing age move him towards the right.
Atheists offer no hope. So sad. If all one hopes for are the things of this world, they are blind spiritually because God/Jesus has so much more to offer than what we can see.
I could listen to Hitchens talk for hours.
Atheists offer no hope. So sad. If all one hopes for are the things of this world, they are blind spiritually because God/Jesus has so much more to offer than what we can see.
Thank you, it is good to actually be able to hear what they are saying.
Thank you so much for posting again and improving- it is wonderful, sad, tragic to listen to Hitch- what a loss
Atheists offer no hope. So sad. If all one hopes for are the things of this world, they are blind spiritually because God/Jesus has so much more to offer than what we can see.
Thanks for the posting.
Hitchens was a great thinker and writer, sometimes, saying the opposite to the popular view ie the Iraq invasion.
Also, he is an absolute font of knowledge and an obvious great admirer of Orwell.
Orwell ,to my mind was Britain’s greatest writer of the 20th century and my own personal favourite is coming up for air.
Also, the reason I could never give up bacon, is because of what the pigs did to Boxer in
Animal Farm.
ABSOLUTE SWINE.
Thanks for boosting the audio volume!
all these alarm bells are going off, but we're still shuffling uncontrollably into a nightmare 😪
What alarm bells? What nightmare? What shuffling?
I appreciate the sound quality. I tried to listen to Hitch read God is Not Great on TH-cam and couldn't hear him
Excellent! There's too many videos with poor audio which needs to be refurbished. Well done!
My man Orwell.
Mmmh...... master slave relationship, you own Orwell!? 🤔
I'm only joking!! 😄
Ironically I think that "the last man in Europe", was the perfect title. Man being synonymous with human. 1984 alludes to the future while Orwell was describing the present. I suspect that had that title prevailed the book would have been destroyed everywhere. RIP C. Hitchens, thank you.
😄
I am 13 and read 1984 animal farm road to wigan homage to catalonia and my favorite down and out in paris and london
I am a great admirer of Orwell, Burmese Days, Homage to Catalonia, Animal Farm, 1984, and his collected essays, letters, journalism, book reviews, etc. as published in that 4 volume set by Sonia Orwell et al. Hitchens does a marvelous job of succinctly saying explaining why Orwell was so offended both by Franco and the Stalinists. So sad that the west sees in 1984 and Animal Farm only a criticism of Stalinist USSR, and not of its own barbarity also. Napoleon and the pigs were not the benign rulers that Old Major dreamed they would be, but Farmer Jones was no angel either, and it was not for nothing that the animals sang "rings shall vanish from our noses, and the harness from our backs."
Atheists offer no hope. So sad. If all one hopes for are the things of this world, they are blind spiritually because God/Jesus has so much more to offer than what we can see.
I really can’t believe how great this is.
This is gold.
Atheists offer no hope. So sad. If all one hopes for are the things of this world, they are blind spiritually because God/Jesus has so much more to offer than what we can see.
Hitch was/is a force for forward thinking
Atheists offer no hope. So sad. If all one hopes for are the things of this world, they are blind spiritually because God/Jesus has so much more to offer than what we can see.
Wonderful. How one can say so much in so little time is truly amazing. One comes away believing to know all about Orwell now And worth knowing.
W Somerset Maugham......George Orrwell......Christopher Hitchens.....the great English writers C20th and C21st, there is a direct line between them all. Vale Christopher Hitchens....thank you Sam Seal.
Imagine if Orwell and Hitchens were interviewed today...in the same room.
Heaven :)
Damn, He is missed and another of his type is needed more than ever Today ❗️
One genius analyzing another. Hitchens perhaps being the greater intellect but the lesser man. Orwell really lived ......
It was as great a loss when Hitchens left us, as it was when Orwell passed away.
Chomsky will probably follow soon.
@@Goreuncle what a sad day that will be.
There will be literally no one of their calibre left in the world.
Hitchens is to be congratulated for making so many points with such aplomb while apparently trapped in a large canvas sack.
So enjoyable so enlightening. I wonder what George would have made of COVID and Government response.
Good bless the internet 😃
good bless this part of the internet, unfortunately for every person listening to Hitchens there is probably thousands spreading nonsense and lies
@@DD-gi6kx lol. Count on it
@@DD-gi6kx and almost invariably they're the same ones that tell you to do your own research.
Thank you.
I like how Christopher Hitchens has this almost fluid, unstoppable flow of idea, memory and feeling around the subject of Orwell; I could have wished for more structuring by the interviewer
breaking in now and again to to lead and shape the answers in certain directions. This is not to say I didn't like it, but your attention can wander when certain paths are not followed or opened up.
You should have heard the interviewer getting in the way all the time before I cut him out as much as possible! Awful.
I miss Christopher.
Thanks for that referral. I'll read "Keep the Aspidistra Flying". 👍🏼
Leon Degralle was a rare politician who put his life on the line fighting for his beliefs
...and a Nazi.
I have seen 1984 and Animal Farm for sale on a street stall in Beijing (they were the English versions)
There is a Cantonese version of “Animal Farm” published in Hong Kong.
THANKS
The ability to face facts...
Facts don't care about your feelings
I wonder what Orwell and Hitchens would’ve made of “fake news” or “project fear”
Listen from 29.00 for reference to Orwell writing the only foreword he wrote for 1984. It was in Ukrainian, saying it wasn't anti Socialist but anti Stalin. For Stalin read Putin. History is repeating itself.
Ya. We need the ilk of Hitchens and Orwell now.
To repeat a meme of this year: "Did Orwell nail it, or what?"
Anyone know who the guy interviewing him is? - I think he is very good at drawing out CH on what he thinks by consistently, pushing him to clarify history/thinking for the "not always fully informed"...like me! ...a bit like the BBC's Melvin Bragg at his best....
He said at beginning of the video, August 7th 2009, 😀
WHAT I wouldn't give to have Christopher with us today during these shamefully ridiculous times. I firmly believe he would utterly rubbish the shenanigans of big pharma, big tech, and without a doubt the cancel culture and censorship. Sorely missed now more than ever... an actual, true legend of a soul.
well, he would have a lot to say about how Russia attacked Ukraine - and West sits and hopes Putin will end there... not a pov of Estonians, Latvians, Moldavians... so little people of his composure nowadays... hugely missed!
When did this conversation originally occur?
The interviewer interrupts Hitch just as he's making points.
Who was the interviewer? And what year? Sorry this wasn't included...
Orwell's life would make a great miniseries. Good bet both Orwell and Hitch are rolling in their graves given the state of politics right now.
Orwell was a transparently honest man and a lucid writer. His respect for TS Eliot was not so surprising since his own values might be called "agnostic Christian".
"Newspeak"? A contemporary example - under the Nero-Liberal dispensation - is the replacement of the word "problem" by the weaselly, neutered "issue".
PS: Hitchens himself has also been a great loss to us but you can still find him on TH-cam.🦉
A true intellectual
Atheists offer no hope. So sad. If all one hopes for are the things of this world, they are blind spiritually because God/Jesus has so much more to offer than what we can see.
There has seldom been flummery dressed up as democracy as our Brexit saga. I wonder what would have been left of the arguments if Orwell had been able to pick them over and strip the noise from the content.
I would suspect both sides arguments and lies would suffer the same from his experience and intellect. Like most people from the generation that witnessed facism, nazism, communism and colonialism i would expect that the EU would be identified for what it really is: Another European empire determined to dominate the world
Wait did the host say this is a family show? I’m imagining who are the kids that are listening to this😂😂😂
.Re: Stalin: "...out of whose bottom the sun daily shines."
A family show!
Veritas and libertas. And honesty with humility and authenticity, the essence of courage.
What a great commentator. Eric Blair was one of the few old Etonian self aware anti Imperialist masters of the English language. Rory Stewart another possible example?
The rest of them self entitled , power grabbing ignorant not nice people . Angela Raynor has the real correct noun for old Etonian Tories.....
@06:12 - Going to have to disagree on that. In my view THE greatest Polish intellectual of the 20th century was ALFRED KORZYBSKI founder of the Institute of General Semantics. which is a VERY misleading title! Applying MULTI ORDINALITY , which is words have multiple meanings ( which is why we have dictionaries ) we can discover an alternative meaning is EVALUATIONS. For the sake of their own comfort some choose to view the difference between the "sane" & the "insane" as being a difference of KIND, thus creating a false illusion of distance. In fact the difference is one of DEGREE , i.e. in the accuracy of their evaluations! Now we can begin to understand that G-S ( the hyphen is inserted to emphasise the difference from normal semantics ) is actually a Non Newtonian ( i.e. modern ) Science of Evaluations where we can use modern scientific methodology to solve life problems ( & since his death in 1950, NObody has even begun to approach the level of his work ! )
Given the low level of the conventional education systems in most countries ( the system is rigged by corrupt politicians who are obsessed with obtaining-retaining power & the last thing they want is to be challenged by an intelligent population ! ) there is a problem in that the core book of G-S is Korzybski's "Science & Sanity". Being a scientific treatise, most will have trouble getting to that level ( NOT their fault, but rather that of our education systems who set us up with a LEARNING DEFICIT & while they might train us for ordinary jobs, do not give us such basic "life tools" as PROBLEM SOLVING/CRITICAL THINKING/LOGIC to cope with the present version of the MATRIX we all suffer in ( With regard to the later, not being taught it formally, we are forced to fall back on the quite inadequate 2 valued either/or logic of the ancient philosopher Aristotle STILL built into the English language ! Given this sorry mess, I'd recommend that those who want to get to the level of "S&S" chose 5 or 6 mid level books to use as a bridge to get up to that level, starting off with Korzybski's first book "Manhood of Humanity" where, surviving WW1, he was highly disillusioned with how easily & quickly civilisation had embarked on an industrial WORLD war with all the destruction that led to. In those days people still viewed humans as being "animals with a magic spark".
Clearly that shallow level of thinking can easily lead to animalistic behaviour & no doubt Korzybski had seen FAR too much of that during his service! So, in redefining our terminology & concepts, clearly Korzybski was suggesting that the time for our species to grow up was long overdue! ( & sadly still is ! )
With regards to choosing other mid range "bridging' books, I suggest there's none better than BRUCE KODISH ( who also does back pain books ). The present problem is they seem to be running out of stock & it's about time enough people gave the Institute some hints that the time is overdue for them to start some printing runs of Kodish books ! BTW don't bother with Hayakawa's book on semantics as he never even understood that G-S is actually about THE science of evaluations.
I don't know what frequency with which others obtain insights, but previous to getting into G-S, mine were fairly rare. After completing "S&S" I was getting 5 or 6 a day, for SIX months, non stop! Once you pass that phase I suggest reading "The Art of Awareness: A Textbook on General Semantics & Epistemics" by J. Samuel Bois - A gentle & highly recommended come down from the rest of the mini course that I recommend for getting up to the level of a META system. - After that, going through Western psychology was like the proverbial "hot knife through butter". So the reward for my work in learning G-S was too easily avoid the rubbish that most of Western psychology is. However, there are just a few who stand head & shoulders above the rest - KURT LEWIN ( leadership-parenting styles seems to point in the direction we are born "hard wired to be democratic & sociable ) / ABRAHAM MASLOW( Self Actualising People etc ) / GABOR MATE ( trauma-> addiction, etc ) / ALICE MILLER ( who showed us that THE ORIGINAL cause of THE HUMAN CONDITION being so TOXIC is most parents/relatives/ corrupt politicians abuse children so much that 90% of our species are dysfunctional ! - To give some idea of the damage caused to our species ALL of the four "great" dictators of the 20th century Hitler/Stalin/Mao/ Pol Pot were psychopaths because they were abused children ( & that is NOT some random coincidence ! ) who when they grew up obtained enough power to act out the traumas & dramas of their toxic child hoods on the world stage.- While I pity them for what they went through in their child hoods sadly we STILL have to learn the basic lesson of NEVER EVER give power to a psychopath !
Orwell in the days of maccarthyism would have been interesting, how would he have addressed that? What did he think of the lahour govt of Allee? The death of Stalin? The presence of old ex nazis governing Austria and Germany? If only he had lived another 20 or 30 years.
I have found Orwell’s major works absorbing and enlightening. His writing has a lasting power and influence because it was inspired by actual life experience. Does any contemporary writing possess the same gravitas? Does power and tyranny ever diminish or does it simply mutate? The only salvation from a materialist despotism is the transcendental truth of spiritual faith.
Faith cannot be defined as truth, only as wishful thinking.
Good interview, however I would take issue with one point Hichens makes. That is the so called appeasement of Chamberlin i1938. My father was in the territorials then and he told me that the Woolige arsenal ( the UK weapons' store of the time) was just about empty. The Uk could not fight Hitler as there was nothing to fight with. As it was, the British expeditionary force that was crated in the following year was finally sent to Europe to stop Hitler and it was virtually entirely wasted due to the lack of understanding of the Germans use of Blitzkrieg tactics against a European Officer core that were trained to fight in WW1.
Everyone uses the example of Chamberlin as a warning against appeasement today. But, people forget there was no public support to go to war, and if Chamberlin had pressed for military action when Germany reoccupied the Rhineland, he would have been kicked out of office.
Chamberlin has been ever after castigated for "Peace in our time" but I believe he was desperatley buying time. He knew very well Britian was woefully unprepared. The time that Czechoslovakia paid for made all the difference when the Battle of Britain came.
Chamberlain, not Churchill, was the PM when the UK declared war on Nazi Germany. Chamberlain went to war not because it was easy but because it was right. Going to war after Hitler had had the chance to keep his promises over Czechoslovakia but had chosen to break them, ensured that there was far less opposition to war than might have been the case in '38. He strengthened the case for war and united the country both of which benefited Churchill when he assumed the premiership. The simplistic though ubiquitous "Churchill good. Chamberlain bad." analysis is a sure way to signify your own stupidity.
The prime of England's youth were ruined by being in a stupid and needless WWI, that there was resistance.
@@SandfordSmythe
WWI was stupid, but not needless.
German and Austro-Hungarian aspirations of control over Europe needed to be checked, Russia needed to get rid of the Romanov yoke, the Ottoman empire needed to fall, etc.
Also, the neutrality of Belgium had been guaranteed by the UK, dishonoring such commitment would've shamed the nation and ruined its reputation.
Sure, the UK lost quite a lot in that war, but it gained influence, respect and gratitude.
Nowadays, France considers the UK to be a natural friend and ally, this was unthinkable before WW1, so there's that too.
substantive choice
Profound insights! However, re: 48:42 ff., isn't it possible to love and fear one's father? My father and I were brutally honest with each other, yet we loved and respected one another deeply. Significant paradox!
For a brief second Dan l thought you started with 'Poundland insights...', l was looking foward to your critique!! 😀
Yes it is late at night, and l am very tired!!
i have only just found out he his no longer with us .. such a shame
Hitchens at his best.
The interviewer is Edward Said!
Better query: Is Edward Said the interviewer?
Who is the interviewer?
Russ Roberts at Econtalk podcast, and should have been credited for this content.
I think GO was close up with the ruling elites of this world and that's how he was able to write 1984.
Interviewer sounds like Chris Hedges... but it's really Russ Roberts
'Land and Freedom'...
Ken Loach
Hitchens suggest the ILP was a splinter from the Labour Party, the reality is the ILP was a founding organisation of the LP along with other socialist groups and Trade Unions, the ILP split from the LP in mid 30’s and were to the left of them. The LP entered into a National Government with the Tories.
Hitchens wondering about sickness and death and all too soon hewas taken by both.
Orwell predicted Big Brother but now we have FB Big Brother nobody seems to care.
Hadn't heard that FB had started
imprisoning / torturing people ?
@@2msvalkyrie529 Yeah, kinda lame analogy. Using FB is optional.
@@2msvalkyrie529 them helping the rise of fascism around the world is pretty distopian, is it not? Spying on citizens for multiple governments. Rubbing shoulders with the far-right and stealing money from the people. And spreading propaganda and misinformation.... you don't see the connection?
George Orwell was MI5. ASF Gow, his Eton tutor, was his recruiter.
I don't believe a word of it. Any evidence? Socially awkward, shot through the throat and finally tubercular, Orwell's very far from the gregarious and loquacious character I associate with spies.
@@cacambo589 George Orwell was MI5. ASF Gow, his Eton tutor, was his recruiter. Orwell joined the Indian Imperial Police (IIP) from 1922-27. The IIP was a training ground for MI5. Sir David Petrie served in the IIP(1900-36) and became head of MI5 in 1941. After training in the IIP, Orwell returned to UK after the General Strike in 1926 to infiltrate left wing groups such as the Independent Labour Party. Orwell served in the Spanish Civil War with the Trotskyist POUM then returned to work for BBC which was vetted by MI5. In June 1940, FDR wanted an assessment of UK and its ability to withstand the coming Battle of Britain. FDR sent Gen. William Donovan, future head of OSS, on a secret mission. Donovan met King George VI, PM Winston Churchill and the military and intelligence heads....and George Orwell. In the published Orwell diary which covers this period, Orwell never mentioned meeting Donovan.
anyone from Eton is automatically a scum ....-and an enemy of the People !!!!
Wow, a Conspiracy Theory backdated to the 1940s -- well done!
p.s. .... as well as a few Irish writers?
This is very relevant for Putin.