1984

           Itsrulersarenotheldtogetherbyblood-tiesbutbyadherencetoacommondoctrine. Itistruethatoursocietyisstratified,andveryrigidlystratified,onwhatatfirstsightappeartobehereditarylines. Thereisfarlessto-and-fromovementbetweenthedifferentgroupsthanhappenedundercapitalismoreveninthepre-industrialage. BetweenthetwobranchesofthePartythereisacertainamountofinterchange,butonlysomuchaswillensurethatweaklingsareexcludedfromtheInnerPartyandthatambitiousmembersoftheOuterPartyaremadeharmlessbyallowingthemtorise. Proletarians,inpractice,arenotallowedtograduateintotheParty. Themostgiftedamongthem,whomightpossiblybecomenucleiofdiscontent,aresimplymarkeddownbytheThoughtPoliceandeliminated. Butthisstateofaffairsisnotnecessarilypermanent,norisitamatterofprinciple. ThePartyisnotaclassintheoldsenseoftheword. Itdoesnotaimattransmittingpowertoitsownchildren,assuch; andiftherewerenootherwayofkeepingtheablestpeopleatthetop,itwouldbeperfectlypreparedtorecruitanentirenewgenerationfromtheranksoftheproletariat. Inthecrucialyears,thefactthatthePartywasnotahereditarybodydidagreatdealtoneutralizeopposition. TheolderkindofSocialist,whohadbeentrainedtofightagainstsomethingcalled‘classprivilege’assumedthatwhatisnothereditarycannotbepermanent. Hedidnotseethatthecontinuityofanoligarchyneednotbephysical,nordidhepausetoreflectthathereditaryaristocracieshavealwaysbeenshortlived,whereasadoptiveorganizationssuchastheCatholicChurchhavesometimeslastedforhundredsorthousandsofyears. Theessenceofoligarchicalruleisnotfather-to-soninheritance,butthepersistenceofacertainworld-viewandacertainwayoflife,imposedbythedeadupontheliving. Arulinggroupisarulinggroupsolongasitcannominateitssuccessors.