Ukraine: one war will likely lead to another
This article is written as war is active in Europe. A former KGB agent, rebadged as a brutal, repressive, nationalist/conservative dictator, has invaded a sovereign, smaller nation. In doing so, he seeks to place its people under his yoke. The Russian Bear has lashed out its fearsome paw: innocents are smashed in its wake. Watching on with interest is the leader of the world’s largest communist nation, a man who despite the “rule of the people” mantra of the Chinese Communist Party, also acts increasingly like a dictator. Having already swallowed up Tibet and oppressed its own minorities, the Chinese Dragon now turns to Taiwan. Unsurprisingly, the Russian Bear and the Chinese Dragon recognise traits of themselves in the other. They can be friends, glossing over misdemeanours and encouraging each other’s ambitions. Sharing a disdain for western liberalism and its proselytisers in the US and the EU, they know that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
George Orwell: learning from the Spanish civil war
Seventy years ago, as the Spanish Civil War raged, author and journalist George Orwell experienced similar forces to those operating in the 2020s, but in a somewhat different context. Back then he saw through the cynical charades of left and right. So should we.
The author of “1984” and “Animal Farm” was no armchair theorist when it came to war. In 1936 George Orwell (a pseudonym for Eric Arthur Blair) left England and enlisted as a foot soldier for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War. He saw frontline action, was badly wounded and lucky to survive. He tells the story of his time fighting against Franco’s fascist forces in “Homage to Catalonia”, a book I recently read at the urging of my son who now lives in Barcelona, the capital of the still fiercely independent Spanish province of Catalonia. As with any number of post WWII conflicts - from Vietnam to Syria, Afghanistan to Ukraine - the Spanish Civil was a proxy battle for a broader and deeper clash of ideas and ideologies.
The forces playing out in Spain
On the one side was Francisco Franco, a political and social conservative who was supported by Mussolini, Hitler, parts of the Catholic Church and swathes of the ruling classes in the UK and elsewhere. On the other was the Republicans, a left movement who were strongly influenced by socialist, communist, and even anarchist elements. They had come to power in 1931 after the fall of the Spanish monarchy. Behind the Republicans stood a range of backers including SovietRussia and Mexico.
Communist philosophy within Spain, and elsewhere, was split between Joseph Stalin and his soon to be murdered nemesis, Leon Trotsky. Ironically given the current situation in eastern Europe, Trotskyw as a Ukrainian and Stalin was born in Georgia. Neither was Russian. Communism, at the time Orwell was fighting and writing, was itself engaged in an internal proxy war, somewhat diluting its influence and impact in Spain.
Penetrating the rhetoric of left and right
This potent Spanish mix of political, social, and economic forces informed the ideas subsequently immortalised in the novels Animal Farm and 1984. Orwell’s analysis of what went on in Spain influenced him for the rest of his relatively short life. He died in 1950, which is remarkable given how contemporary his books still seem. Orwell’s searing intellect, and capacity to identify the deep beliefs underpinning the various world views, enabled him to see through – almost uniquely for his time - the rhetoric and posturing of left and right: of progressives and conservatives. It is depressing to note how little has changed in the decades since. For example, in an essay titled “Looking back on the Spanish War’ he scribes the following of the Left, and the “intelligentsia” in general.
“One feature of the Nazi conquest of France was the astonishing defections among the intelligentsia ,including some of the Left-wing political intelligentsia. The intelligentsia squeal loudest against fascism, and yet a respectable proportion of them collapse into defeatism when the pinch comes. They are far-sighted enough to see the odds against them, and moreover, they can be bribed…”
Those who remember Vichy France, the nominally independent two fifths of France ruled during WWII by Nazi puppet, Philippe Pétain, will understand what Orwell is referring to. Pétain, and many others – including from the left - supported and enabled the Nazis during the occupation of France. In return, they were bribed.
Orwell’s hard-as-flint glare then turns to the backers of Fascism:
“When one thinks of all the people who support or have supported Fascism, one stands amazed at their diversity. What a crew! Think of a programme which at any rate for a while c uld bring together Hitler, Pétain…William Randolph Hearst…Ezra Pound…Cocteau…the Mufti of Jerusalem…(and) Lady Houston all into the same boat! But the clue is really very simple. They are all people with something to lose, or people who long for a hierarchical society and dread the prospect of a world of free and equal human beings.”
Spain, Soviet Russia, Animal Farm, and power – A Fairy Story
Orwell explored the dread of “free and equal human beings” through a parable from the animal world he subtitled “A Fairy Story”. Those who have read Animal Farm will recall the plot: a group of intelligent, highly organised pigs rise up and take over Manor Farm, removing its animal-oppressing owner, Mr Jones. Initially, all animals are equal, but gradually, the pigs became more equal. They cunningly step into the power vacuum created by a farm without a farmer and ensconce themselves as an unquestioned, ruling elite. They even upgrade their accommodation, leaving the dirty hustle and bustle of the barn for the comfort of Farmer Jones’ house. There they slept in human beds, no less. Not for themselves, of course, but only so they had the clarity of mind and restfulness necessary to rule justly over their fellow animals!
Although clearly a pean against Soviet-communism, Orwell’s pig-leaders became less and less ideologically driven over time. As ideology subsides, their real motives become apparent: ambition, power, and a desire for the good life. The masses, the everyday animals, were promised equality and relative leisure, but ended up working ever harder year on year, driven on by the pig ruling class.
Ordinary animals in a fairy tale represent ordinary people in real life. Orwell cared about the have nots. We would call them working people or in political speak, working families. In “Looking back on the Spanish War”, the centrality of Orwell’s humanitarian ethos is clear.
“All that the working man demands is what these others would consider the indispensable minimum without which human life cannot be lived at all. Enough to eat, freedom from the haunting terror of unemployment, the knowledge that your children will get a fair chance, a bath once a day, clean linen reasonably often, a roof that doesn’t leak, and short enough working hours to leave you with a little energy when the day is done.”
It is the ordinary people who suffer most.
The myth of neutrality revisited
The governments of the West largely stood by and watched while the Spanish Civil war raged on. Our ancestors were unwilling or unable to commit to one side or the other. As a result, Franco ruled over Spain from 1939 to his death in 1975. He is still considered to have been a dictator and Fascist. Although he kept his nation from formally joining the Axis powers of Italy and Germany in WWII, his government provided extensive support to Hitler and Mussolini. During this same period, Stalin, then Mao, consolidated their power in the Soviet Union and China. Like Orwell’s pigs, they only sought power to serve the people, of course! The legacy of these and other Left/Right dictator-bullies is playing out today in Ukraine. Before we know it, Taiwan will be at stake as well. It is tempting to wait it out, to exercise benign neutrality. Orwell counsels otherwise.
“When one thinks of the cruelty, squalor, and the futility of war…there is always the temptation to say: ‘One side is as bad as the other. I am neutral.’ In practice, however, one cannot be neutral…Nearly always one side stands more or less for progress, the other side more or less for reaction.”
The Russian Bear, and the Chinese Dragon – as opposed to the Russian and Chinese peoples - stand more or less for reaction. They seek to dominate, control, and repress the legitimate freedoms of others. We must learn the lessons of history before it is too late –particularly for the ordinary people.
Philip Pogson FAICD
March 2022.
Philip has been a company director, Chair, and business owner for more than 20 years. He consults and advises on strategy and governance across a range of business sectors and also co-owns and operates a music production and promotion business.