hmm but in 1984 the enemy did exist...
it was just that the war didn't have any reason apart from destroying the result of the people's work to keep them poor, and giving them some kind of scapegoat to blame for their fate. plus, i guess it could be seen as a test of the effectiveness of the rewriting of history at the ministry of truth, because the constellation (who fights against whom) changed all the time.
but the enemy really did exist, while there's no evidence that either "big brother" or emmanuel goldstein did.
Slashdot Mirror
hmm but in 1984 the enemy did exist... it was just that the war didn't have any reason apart from destroying the result of the people's work to keep them poor, and giving them some kind of scapegoat to blame for their fate. plus, i guess it could be seen as a test of the effectiveness of the rewriting of history at the ministry of truth, because the constellation (who fights against whom) changed all the time. but the enemy really did exist, while there's no evidence that either "big brother" or emmanuel goldstein did.