These abuses of language are some of the most significant sources of political degradation. He challenges his readers to examine their writing for dying metaphors, operators or verbal false limbs, pretentious diction, and meaningless words. He summarizes: “The great enemy of clear language is insincerity.” He writes that the English language “becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.” He notes that the process is reversible, but we must make every effort to think clearly, and then make our language adhere to our thoughts. He argues, therefore, that our response to ideological thought should not remain in the realm of thought, but should find a strong foundation in the language we use. This observation is especially true in politics. When one degrades or is reinforced, the other follows. The thesis of Orwell’s essay is that language and thought are bound to each other as mutual dependents.

One of his greatest contributions to political thought is a short essay titled “ Politics and the English Language.” This document is a profound insight into the relationship between thought and language. Orwell’s name should be synonymous with clear, concise, and prophetic writing. Various political commentators and thinkers often use the word “Orwellian” to describe the totalitarian ideologies they perceive today, alluding back to Orwell’s dystopia 1984, but George Orwell would take offense at the use of his name as a synonym for these ideologies. Orwell examines relationship between language and thought

Orwell politics of the english language