On 1984, I don’t think the O’Brien displays any love for the Party. He’s playing his part, because he has little choice, like everyone else.
I think that’s the point. Everyone can get screwed by the wrong institutions that no one intends. There doesn’t have to be an evil cabal for an evil result. One set of institutions can bring a benevolent invisible hand, and another can bring a boot stomping a human face forever, both in contradiction to the intent of the individual actors involved.
Dennett calls it competence without comprehension, though I’ve never seen him give Adam Smith any credit. The system does what it does, without knowing what it does.
On 1984, I don’t think the O’Brien displays any love for the Party. He’s playing his part, because he has little choice, like everyone else.
I think that’s the point. Everyone can get screwed by the wrong institutions that no one intends. There doesn’t have to be an evil cabal for an evil result. One set of institutions can bring a benevolent invisible hand, and another can bring a boot stomping a human face forever, both in contradiction to the intent of the individual actors involved.
Dennett calls it competence without comprehension, though I’ve never seen him give Adam Smith any credit. The system does what it does, without knowing what it does.