The Straggler: De Haut en Bas

‘THROUGHOUT recorded time, and probably since the end of the Neolithic Age, there have been three kinds of people in the world, the High, the Middle, and the Low. . . . The aim of the High is to remain where they are. The aim of the Middle is to change places with the High. The aim of the Low . . . is to abolish all distinctions and create a society in which all men shall be equal.”

Thus Emmanuel Goldstein in The Book, the one that Winston Smith reads while canoodling with his girlfriend in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Goldstein got the essentials right, but he failed to foresee the great success of meritocratic welfare capitalism. His schema needs a few adjustments.

About the Author

John Derbyshire

Mr. Derbyshire is a former contributing editor of National Review.

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‘THROUGHOUT recorded time, and probably since the end of the Neolithic Age, there have been three kinds of people in the world, the High, the Middle, and the Low. . . . The aim of the High is to remain where they are. The aim of the Middle is to change places with the High. The aim of the Low . . . is to abolish all distinctions and create a society in which all men shall be equal.”

Thus Emmanuel Goldstein in The Book, the one that Winston Smith reads while canoodling with his girlfriend in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Goldstein got the essentials right, but he failed to foresee the great success of meritocratic welfare capitalism. His schema needs a few adjustments.