--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Political writing in our time consists…" description: "\"Political writing in our time consists almost entirely of prefabricated phrases bolted together like the pieces of a child's Meccano set. It is the una..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dc/george-orwell-57_censorship_political-writing-in-our-time-consists-a_2559460.jpg" --- # Political writing in our time consists almost entirely of… ![“Political writing in our time consists almost entirely of prefabricated phrases bolted together like the pieces of a child's Meccano set. It is the unavoidable result of self-censorship. To write in plain, vigorous language one has to think fearlessly, and if one thinks fearlessly one cannot be…” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dc/george-orwell-57_censorship_political-writing-in-our-time-consists-a_2559460.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dc/george-orwell-57_censorship_political-writing-in-our-time-consists-a_2559460.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dc/george-orwell-57_censorship_political-writing-in-our-time-consists-a_2559460.jpg) > “Political writing in our time consists almost entirely of prefabricated phrases bolted together like the pieces of a child's Meccano set. It is the unavoidable result of self-censorship. To write in plain, vigorous language one has to think fearlessly, and if one thinks fearlessly one cannot be politically orthodox.” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Political discourse is reduced to canned phrases, limiting honest thought; fearless, plain language resists orthodoxy. **In simple terms:** Canned phrases limit honest thought; plain language resists conformity. Key Takeaway Use clear, bold language to challenge norms. Themes politics language censorship orthodoxy Mood critical provocative Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - journalism - activism - education - public speaking Key Concepts semantic decay critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can plain language be persuasive? - What are the costs of challenging political orthodoxy? A Different Perspective Risk of alienation when confronting entrenched political views. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Censorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship/) [Censorship Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship-write-1591911/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Orthodox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orthodox/) [Phrases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phrases/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-writing/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self censorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-censorship/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Vigorous Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vigorous-language-1591912/) [Write Plain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-plain-466298/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Now, after I have published a few books, I can clearly feel the impact of censorship when I write. For example, I'll think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murong-xuecun/now-after-i-have-published-a-few-books-i-can-clearly-feel-the-impact/) [Murong Xuecun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murong-xuecun/) > [“In our age there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics.' All issues are political issues…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-our-age-there-is-no-such-thing-as-keeping-out-of-politics-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [A dreary censorship, and self-censorship, has been imposed on books by the centralization of the book industry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/a-dreary-censorship-and-self-censorship-has-been-imposed-on-books-by/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [You should not be subjected to the pressures, the intimidation, whether by Government or by the private sector, which would force you into self-censorship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-maurice-de-zayas/you-should-not-be-subjected-to-the-pressures-the-intimidation-whether/) [Alfred-Maurice de Zayas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-maurice-de-zayas/) > [The worst evil is - and that's the product of censorship - is the self-censorship, because that twists spines, that destroys my character because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milos-forman/the-worst-evil-is-and-that-s-the-product-of-censorship-is-the-self/) [Milos Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milos-forman/) > [Self-censorship, the most important and most successful form of censorship, is rampant. Debate is identified with dissent, which is in turn identified with disloyalty.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/self-censorship-the-most-important-and-most-successful-form-of/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“What are the consequences when the government, the media, and the leaders of commerce all speak with one voice? Why, it means that if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/what-are-the-consequences-when-the-government-the-media-and-the/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Self-censorship as a result of intimidation or social pressures, sometimes referred to as "political correctness", constitutes a serious obstacle to the proper functioning of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-maurice-de-zayas/self-censorship-as-a-result-of-intimidation-or-social-pressures/) [Alfred-Maurice de Zayas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-maurice-de-zayas/) > [Self-censorship is insulting to the self. Timidity is a hopeless way forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/self-censorship-is-insulting-to-the-self-timidity-is-a-hopeless-way/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [SeLF censorsHIP? Not my strong suit...I dont want to be a total d o u c h e b a g , but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha-collins/self-censorship-not-my-strong-suit-i-dont-want-to-be-a-total-d-o-u-c/) [Misha Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha-collins/) > [Self-censorship happens not only in China, or Iran or ex-Soviet places. It can happen anywhere. If an artist penetrates a certain taboo or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xiaolu-guo/self-censorship-happens-not-only-in-china-or-iran-or-ex-soviet-places/) [Xiaolu Guo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xiaolu-guo/) > [As a writer, I think the greatest danger would be self-censorship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-kitamura/as-a-writer-i-think-the-greatest-danger-would-be-self-censorship/) [Katie Kitamura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-kitamura/) > [I think the enemy is self-censorship. In a free society the biggest danger is that you're afraid to the point where you censor yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-robbins/i-think-the-enemy-is-self-censorship-in-a-free-society-the-biggest/) [Tim Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-robbins/) > [Society develops a type of self-censorship, with the knowledge that surveillance exists - a self-censorship that is even expressed when people communicate with each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/society-develops-a-type-of-self-censorship-with-the-knowledge-that/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Self-censorship is a lie to yourself; if you are going to be trying to seriously create art, to create literary art, and you decide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/self-censorship-is-a-lie-to-yourself-if-you-are-going-to-be-trying-to/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More Censorship quotes > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [“Censors don’t want children exposed to ideas different from their own. If every individual with an agenda had his/her way, the shelves in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/censors-don-t-want-children-exposed-to-ideas-different-from-their-own/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [Censorship is the child of fear and the father of ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/censorship-is-the-child-of-fear-and-the-father-of-ignorance/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [I don't believe in censorship in any form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-bigelow/i-don-t-believe-in-censorship-in-any-form/) [Kathryn Bigelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-bigelow/) > [We must be talented, powerful and resilient creatures indeed given how much we manage to produce despite the constant undercutting, ridicule and needless censorship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/we-must-be-talented-powerful-and-resilient-creatures-indeed-given-how/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [When a critic sets himself up as an arbiter of morality, a judge of the matter and not the manner of a work, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-a-critic-sets-himself-up-as-an-arbiter-of-morality-a-judge-of/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [When there is official censorship it is a sign that speech is serious. Where there is none, it is pretty certain that the official…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/when-there-is-official-censorship-it-is-a-sign-that-speech-is-serious/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [“I agree that it's a shame some books have to suffer ratings that clearly are invalid. However I can't think of a way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otis-y-chandler/i-agree-that-it-s-a-shame-some-books-have-to-suffer-ratings-that/) [Otis Y. Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otis-y-chandler/) > [I think that, honestly, people's censorship issues are personal but I disagree with most of those personal choices that I see others make. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-rogen/i-think-that-honestly-people-s-censorship-issues-are-personal-but-i/) [Seth Rogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-rogen/) > [Art made tongue-tied by authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/art-made-tongue-tied-by-authority/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“The tendency to want what has been banned and therefore to presume that it is more worthwhile is not limited to such commodities as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-cialdini/the-tendency-to-want-what-has-been-banned-and-therefore-to-presume/) [Robert B. Cialdini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-cialdini/) > [The only thing that is obscene is censorship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-thing-that-is-obscene-is-censorship/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In a feature film, the question of censorship always comes up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javed-jaffrey/in-a-feature-film-the-question-of-censorship-always-comes-up/) [Javed Jaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javed-jaffrey/) > [“Don't join the book burners. Don't think you're going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don't be afraid to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/don-t-join-the-book-burners-don-t-think-you-re-going-to-conceal/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [ If no one speaks out for \[young readers\], if they don’t speak out for themselves, all they’ll get for required reading will be the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/if-no-one-speaks-out-for-young-readers-if-they-don-t-speak-out-for/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) [Browse all 884 Censorship quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Political writing in our time consists almost entirely of prefabricated phrases bolted together like the pieces of a child's Meccano set. It is the unavoidable result of self-censorship. 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