Why Some People Hold Conflicting Ideas
Orwellian Gaslighting
Doublethink:
Simultaneously holding two contradictory beliefs while accepting both as true. The term was coined by George Orwell in his dystopian novel ‘1984’.
In 1984, ‘doublethink’ is a cognitive tool used to maintain the Party’s control over Oceania — manipulating the minds of the citizens, encouraging them to accept false realities without question.
• The Ministry of Peace wages war.
• The Ministry of Truth falsifies history.
• The Ministry of Plenty manages scarcity.
• The Ministry of Love tortures to force loyalty.
O’Brien, the Inner Party official who spends 7 years laying a trap for Winston Smith (the story’s protagonist) is the ‘ultimate practitioner’ of doublethink.
He believes in the Party’s mission to control the people of Oceania, but convinces Winston that he is a revolutionary who’d love nothing more than to overthrow that very same government.
The Party uses social engineering and propaganda to erase the past and control the future.
Whatever the Party says is true, becomes true — and through the use of doublethink, they are able to sweep any contradictions under the carpet.
This is reflected in the Party’s motto:
“Who controls the past controls the future”
”Who controls the present controls the past”
Doublethink is not just a fictional concept.
These days it often manifests in political rhetoric and propaganda, resulting in a paradoxical acceptance of conflicting ideas.
I’m sure you can probably think of examples you’ve seen in the news recently.
I had originally planned to break down the name and logo of my publication here as it’s so relevant, but I think it’s more fun to let you put the pieces together yourself.
I had a whole breakdown prepared, but I decided to delete it. It no longer exists and it also never did. I actually never wrote it at all.
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Lovely and concise with a beautiful visual to boot.
There is a probably some value in drawing a contrast between Orwellian doublethink and F. Scott Fitzgerald's “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."
...if only to make sure we the people understand how seemingly small moral, ethical, and political compromises can lead to an osmosis into conflict (ala your visual) and even first-rate intelligence can delude itself into thinking it's needed to be able to function.
These dystopian mental gymnastics are a hallmark of crazy corporations with spineless management—perfect for chaotic companies clinging to dysfunction. It’s like they took Orwell’s doublethink as a playbook: shift blame, dodge accountability, and deny reality.
We’ve all seen the corporate versions of the Party’s tactics:
• “We value transparency” (while gaslighting employees).
• “We’re all in this together” (but accountability is always someone else’s job).
• “This is how it’s always been done” (when no one can recall why).
It’s wild how easily companies rewrite their own failures into ‘learning opportunities’ or ‘team challenges’—classic corporate doublethink in action.