June in 1949 marks the publication of George Orwell’s frighteningly dystopian novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four. Critically ill with tuberculosis, Orwell had spent two years working on it in Scotland before submitting the final manuscript. Since publication, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four has been translated into more than 65 languages and contributed some additions of its own to the English language. The very title itself, the language it introduced (such as ‘doublespeak’, ‘groupthink’, and ‘newspeak’), and even the author’s name have all become common bywords pertaining to loss of privacy and increasing state control. To label something ‘Orwellian’ is to call it totalitarian in nature, or describe governmental control and misuse of information. His invented persona ‘Big Brother’ has entered mainstream English and is synonymous with pervasive government surveillance.

Orwell’s work is popular amongst those who distrust the state, but he described himself as an avowed socialist and took pains to assure others of this. It was not socialism he feared, but authoritarian, totalitarian regimes. Whatever his personal politics, he understood the dangers of entrusting too much power to government. Thanks to his brilliant work, millions of other people understand it too.