"Realistic fiction leaves out too much." - Gene Wolfe

David Stockhoff · 08 May 2011, 17:13 · from 2011-May.txt.gz

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From: dstockhoff at verizon.net (David Stockhoff)
Date: Sun, 08 May 2011 13:13:25 -0400
Subject: (urth) "Realistic fiction leaves out too much." - Gene  Wolfe
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I've always assumed the second: that sovietism had won out.

Oceana is presumably the most likely candidate for liberal democracy 
anyway; if either of the other two actually adopted democracy, it seems 
pretty indistinguishable from sovietism from the outside.

On 5/6/2011 11:03 AM, James Wynn wrote:
> Actually, that was to Sergei.
>
> On 5/6/2011 10:01 AM, James Wynn wrote:
>> Mo,
>>
>> That's interesting observation. What specific ideas did you find 
>> unconvincing? Have you seen the movie "The Lives of Others"?
>>
>> The only thing that *might* be unconvincing to me is that such a 
>> society could be maintained _worldwide_ among three nations. But 
>> then, I only know about the other two nations from what we are told. 
>> They might actually be free. On the other hand, the belief in the 
>> eventual inevitably universal spread of Soviet Socialism was not 
>> uncommon in the UK in 1947 (much as the current belief in Liberal 
>> Democracy). So, maybe Orwell was speculating "What if it _did_ happen?"
>>
>> J.
>>
>>
>>> At 19:01 05/05/2011, Sergei wrote:
>>>> By the way, I didn't like much the Orvell's "1984" (I did like
>>>> the Animal Farm). The reason - "Animal Farm" is presented as abstract,
>>>> symbolic fiction, and it seems almost perfect symbol.
>>>> The "1984" contains many details that were not convincing,
>>>> even as a possible development of the society in the USSR.
>>>> It was still very good
>>>> as a scheme, on the level of abstract ideas (language in "1984",
>>>> inner Party, etc), but not in realistic details.
>>>
>>>
>>> I
>
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