Living In Pseudo-Reality

Letters from O'Brien #1

Dear Mr Smith,

I was thinking about how reality is bound to certain axioms. These axioms manifest themselves in the world around us through our senses directly, and probably indirectly through metaphor, reasoning, and the like. We realise them both consciously and subconsciously, and as such we have grown accustomed to their general nature. Anything outside of the ordinary will usually draw attention. 

There’s been a lot of “outside of the ordinary” happening to us at the moment. I think that anyone attempting to take control over our “reality” has to come to terms with the harsh fact they cannot bend it too far without being obvious. That is unless they create a false reality for others to live in; a reality crafted by themselves and under their own control.

THE NEED FOR FALSE REALITY 

Over the 20th Century we have seen - perhaps more than any other time in history - the emergence of countless pseudo-realities manufactured by an author who’s goal is to subvert others. From the Bolshevik revolutionaries to the fighters of the Khmer Rouge, many of the most infamous cults of the past hundred years have been organised by a manipulation of reality to the point where the distinction between true and false is practically non existent.

It might be important at this point to clarify the difference between those unconsciously under the illusion of a pseudo-reality, and those being driven by an acceptance of evil, while wilfully capitalising on that very pseudo-reality (and not being drawn completely into it). It would not be too far fetched to claim that many of the perpetrators of the worst atrocities in the 20th century - particularly conflicts involving disparity, such as the Bolshevik class war - were in fact people who were not ‘brainwashed’, but simply taking the opportunity to capitalise on the justification of hatred. In other words driven by an acceptance of evil. After all, the common unifying factor across almost all socialist sub-ideologies is the ‘negative’ (hatred, sadness, loss, disparity, unfairness, suffering, etc.). A pseudo-reality can exists within the minds of these ‘wilful’ individuals, in that they are capable of targeting their actions on those who have not necessarily harmed them or even been the causation of their disparity. The targeting not based on rationalism, but rather based on a false reality, a pseudo-reality, used as a justification.

In contrast to these vengeful individuals, many that are trapped within murderous ideologies (and will-be murderous ideologies), these pseudo-realities are often driven to a point of resolve, which is not entirely overcome with hatred and pure vengefulness, but rather a striving for ‘justice’ against the ‘accused’.  A perfect example of this is Maoist China, where from 1967 through till the late 1970s students were given free reign to bring justice by executing the ‘evildoers’. ‘Capitalist infiltrators’ were blamed for the rough period immediately following the Chinese Civil war in 1949, through to the end of the Great Leap Forward in the early 60s. While leadership of the nation was technically to blame, Mao realised that an altering of reality would allow his regime to target his own enemies in the public and political sphere, while also gathering the younger generation under his belief system (Mao Zedong Thought). Practically every school and university aged child would have been impacted by the Great Leap Forward, and as such there was a unifying factor. 

With a generation of young people accustomed to suffering under Communism, Mao realised that China would have to shift from a Communist country existing within reality, to a constructed “reality” supporting the Communist Idea, otherwise the system would quickly crumble. This was achieved by changing the meaning of suffering from something which is experienced by all, and often arises form non-uniform factors, to something which is a direct consequence of free market democratic systems and its proponents. 

THE MANUFACTURER

It is easy to see how far this can be extrapolated. Twisting the fabric of true reality has certain limitations, but can yield controls in which any outcome can be achieved by any means. The manufacturer of a pseudo-reality is like that which exists between two overlapping circles. He is both the embodiment of the manufactured idea and the portal to reality (think of Mao, or Stalin). Since he (most often) is aware of true reality he exists within, he is aware of the fabrication, and must live with himself once he has created the lie. 

Once created, others can be subverted into this new reality. This new reality can be enticing for many reasons; perhaps it answers the unanswerable, offers something of universal value, or paints a target and clarifies its willingness to destroy it. 

A false reality such as this can gather existing data and map it to a particular cause or effect. Likewise, it can also manufacture something entirely unreal - such as the belief that a particular class, race, or nationality of people are hellbent on global destruction. It can take real evidence and create correlations between them, and then map them to a single node (such as a people group being the first and final cause of suffering). Any hypothetical reasoning or data, just out of reach of most individuals, can likewise be utilised in a similar fashion. 

A POOR ATTEMPT 

The current attempts by to construct a false reality have become particularly evident over the past few years. Why? Because the execution of such a brainwashing has been in some areas lacking. This has been as a result of a more complex societal system.

Firstly, unmoderated streams of information allow everyone to see true reality. This is evident in the (mostly) free flow of information that has allowed ideas to form. In the classic socialist view of society, the free internet could be seen as an extension of ‘the family unit’ that allows generation and propagation of ideas outside of top-down State-sanctioned reality¹.

Secondly, uniting factors are far more complex; given that most nations in the West are a combination of hundreds of cultures, it is not as easy to define what unites a nation  (in contrast to say 1930s Germany or 1800s Russia, where racial or cultural heritage could unite as much of the population fell into a single category). 

Thirdly - and perhaps most importantly - the individuals and organisations in the west attempting to force this new reality struck too soon and moved too quickly. Although the process of ideological subversion had been successfully manifesting itself since at least the 1930s (and certainly the late 1960s onwards), it had not yet ensnared enough minds for it to be a formidable force, such as that seen in the Bolshevik Revolution, the Chinese Civil War, the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the Khmer Rouge, the NSDAP² and so forth. What we have seen is a rather ironic self-perpetuation of the ideological subversion process manifesting itself in Western leaders; they show too much, rushing to act, failing to plan deeply, lacking patience and precision. They speak with certainty, but it is not manifest. They receive no applause like Hitler, they lack the respect of Stalin. They are self-perpetuating. 

Compare this thought process to China, who’s leaders have been taught to plan out all possibilities, slowly encroach on enemies, and most importantly, never act out of impulse; to this day we see this, as their leaders patiently bide their time in preparation.

In the West, these ideas of a new reality are not broadly accepted and as such the only way to continue to push them is with force, which not only further deters the pseudo-reality from manifesting itself in the minds of its dissidents, but puts massive strain on the State. Even in far more ideologically ‘successful’ socialist states such as the Soviet Union, the mid-scale dissidence and general decentivization to partake in the pseudo-reality meant that prison labour became essential for the economy to continue operating. Under Stalin, prison labour amounted to a considerable percentage of the Soviet GDP. 

THE CONTINUATION

Despite all this, the ability for an individual or group to manufacture a false reality and ensnare others in this cult of falsity still exists.  

Of particular danger is the continuation of many of the various socialist ideas, as these ideas require an organising factor (race, gender, class, nation, etc.) so that both a target audience and enemy (physical manifestation of evil and cause of suffering) can be specified (simplified, binary). 

An interesting proponent of pseudo-reality is Herbert Marcuse. Throughout his career as an author, Marcuse pushed the idea that man is happy because if he weren’t, he would realise his own suffering and enslavement under the capitalist system. These are the core foundations of his pseudo-reality; that the lie is being lived, and you cannot disprove it. Of course, this is partially done through the use of hollow philosophy to claim that happiness is pseudo-happiness and that enjoyment is not as it should be. 

It is worth noting that the end result of Marcus’s thinking is (unsurprisingly) not something he truly believes, but rather a justification to organise a revolutionary class to overturn the current culture in the pursuit of utopia. This would require an unhappy target population, hence his insistence on us throwing away what makes us happy, as it is merely a capitalist illusion to keep you blindly toiling away³. 

So, Mr Smith, I believe the end of the matter is for us to be aware of the pseudo-reality being imposed upon us, in an attempt to enslave us, as has been the case in the examples I’ve cited above. Awareness is everything, critical thinking is… well critical. May we be grounded in reality and not in the illusions of madmen!

Sincerely Yours,

O’Brien⁴

1. Nevertheless, many continue to fall, and the attempts at constructing this pseudo-reality continue to be pushed. This previously mentioned streams of data are a new problem for the architects of a false reality to battle - hence the continual push towards forced identification for online use, limited streams of information, centralisation of distribution, and a hypothetical wall to keep unwanted information from entering a community. This isn’t far fetched; many governing bodies in the west are already pushing for it, and China has fully implemented such measures. 

2. Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei

3. As KGB defector Yuri Bezmenov warned, once an individual has been ideologically subverted and demoralised, they can only react to certain stimuli. They are contaminated; unable to assess true information. This process cuts deep, to the point where an individual under the full sway of ideological subversion will be incapable of coming to terms (or accepting) an alternate viewpoint to that instilled in himself. Only once he is about to die at gunpoint will he realise the error of his ways.

4. For new readers - O’Brien is not an alter of Winston Smith but actually another chap entirely who is writing to Mr Smith, as does Mr Charrington