George Orwell was born in 1903 in Motihari, British India, and died in London in 1950. His real name was Eric Arthur Blair, but it was under his pen name that he authored some of the most influential works of the 20th century.
I’ve always loved him. Recently, I noticed how often the word “decency” appears in his writings and interviews, and it struck a chord. If such a monumental figure had positioned an idea I once grappled with at the core of his thinking, it was worth exploring further.
In the 1930s, Orwell volunteered to fight in the Spanish Civil War. He later described his decision in clear terms:
If you ask me why I joined the (Spanish) militia, I would say: ‘To fight against Fascism’. But if you ask me why I’m fighting, I must answer: ‘For common decency’.
Despite being scarred by the cruelty of war, he came out of it with a renewed belief in the basic decency of human beings.
Earlier in his life, in the book The Road to Wigan Pier, Orwell linked decency to democratic socialism, insisting that it was “the only conceivable form of socialism for a decent person.”
Later, in Animal Farm, he tells the story of a cynical revolution gone wrong, a daunting critique of Stalinism and the authoritarian turn taken by an idea that once promised justice.
Understanding Decency
To Orwell, decency wasn’t about manners or politeness, nor was it about waving a flag for one side. It was about resisting the systems of power that strip ordinary people of their dignity.
What I have most wanted to do over the past ten years is to make political writing into an art. My starting point is always a feeling of partisanship, a sense of injustice.
Dangerous Misreadings
Ironically — or perhaps predictably — his ideals are now often distorted by people claiming to defend “Orwellian freedom,” while actively promoting authoritarianism or deregulated chaos as the ultimate form of liberty.
Orwell warned precisely against strongmen who place themselves above the law, while the rest of us are expected to obey. His view of decency required boundaries, ethical clarity, and constant resistance to injustice. He never advocated for a society ruled by tech giants or driven by algorithmic chaos.
Like George Orwell, I believe decency should come before any banner. Before we’re identified as left or right, religious or secular, rich or poor, Israeli or Palestinian. We are all humankind — made of the same molecules as the soil, the trees, and the animals around us. And this shared existence demands a minimum mutual respect that people easily lose track of.
Decency should be a universal order, a principle across political, ideological, social, and racial lines. Only when we recognize each other as equals in sharing the world, bees in the same beehive, can our differences become a source of richness, not a threat.
2 responses
Well said!
Thank you for taking the time to read this, Matt. Hv a lovely week!