by Ron Hughes

Created on: April 08, 2007   Last Updated: May 16, 2007

"Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's the other way around." This pithy Russian saying sums up the basic moral of "Animal Farm", George Orwell's brilliant satire based on the Russian Revolution. In this short and hugely entertaining book, Orwell, also the author of "1984", chronicled with intelligence and biting wit the rise to power of the Bolshevik party which led to Communist dictatorship in Russia.

The farm is Russia under the rule of the aristocracy. Abused and neglected, the animals rebel and take control of the farm from their human owner with grand hopes of a better future under their new philosophy of "Animalism" (communism). Unfortunately, their hopes turn to ashes as the ideals for which they fought are soon perverted by the new ruling class, represented in the book by the pigs. Despite all their rhetoric about a classless society and the rule of the proletariat (working class), the higher echelons of the Communist party in Russia soon began to reserve power and privilege for themselves. In much the same way, Orwell's pigs dominate and oppress the rest of the animals who end up becoming no better off - and arguably, worse off - under a new set of tyrants than they were under the ones they replaced.

Many of the animal characters in the book closely parallel real human characters from Russian history. "Snowball", for instance, represents Leon Trotsky whose military leadership was an important part of the success of the revolution. Eventually, struggles for power within the party led to his persecution and forced exile from Russia. Later, Trotsky was hunted down and murdered in a foreign country by the KGB after he spoke out against the infamous "show trials" conducted by Joseph Stalin in one of his numerous brutal "purges". Stalin is characterized in the book as the chief betrayer of the ideals of the Revolution. Interestingly, Orwell chose the name "Napoleon" for the pig who represents Stalin. Though still often portrayed as a heroic figure by the French, Napoleon, the "butcher of Corsica" who invaded Russia in a vain attempt to expand his empire, even today is reviled by Russians as one of the archvillains in all of history. Given that Stalin went on to become a murderous dictator directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Russians, Orwell's choice seems quite apt.

"Animal Farm" is a great read and hopefully a sobering revelation for those who believe that the salvation of humankind lies in new political and economic systems, institutions and parties. The ideals of communism, for instance, "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need", are worthy enough. Unfortunately, they must be put into practice by fallible human beings. So far at least, we have not shown in general that in this respect we are any better than animals.

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