Here's another thing American high schools don't teach under the neoliberal hegemony: Orwell was a socialist.
But it's not just an academic problem; no one quotes Orwell in context!
1984? Animal Farm? Anti-Stalinist. Orwell hated Stalin. That doesn't mean he wasn't a socialist. He wrote so, himself, that every word he ever wrote was for Democratic Socialism and against fascism.
He made a distinction, unlike the neoliberal hegemony, because as a socialist he understood that anti-capitalism challenges power and capital whereas fascism does not. ORWELL DID NOT ENDORSE HORSESHOE THEORY. BUT HORSESHOE THEORY IS THE LENSE UNDER THE NEOLIBERAL HEGEMONY THROUGH WHICH ORWELL IS FILTERED.
Now, to be clear, my politics are quite antithetical to Orwell's too. I do not endorse "Democratic Socialism" because I am not a Socialist. I am an anarchist who appreciates Socialism. And I can also appreciate Orwell in context.
What I don't appreciate, is that Orwell named names.
And NAMING NAMES IS NOT COOL.
WE DO NOT NAME NAMES.
History has taught us better.
Orwell gave us the concept of the Thought Police, and practiced it in his life.
So,, thank you, but also, fuck you, George Orwell.
Look... A Clockwork Orange is one of my favorite books, too. That doesn't mean I agree with Anthony Burgess' politics.
Some things influence you in a certain direction and that's cool. I am as anti-shame as I am anti-capitalist.