Societies in dystopian fiction often develop elaborate systems of social class. Take the example of George Orwell's ‘1984’, where there were the proletarians who are known as the ‘lowest’ in the social class system.
In ‘1984’, the ‘proles’ were divided into Oceania's working class which the government considers to be uneducated and almost animal-like. It is known that Oceania’s population was primarily made up of the proles. And, as Winston Smith put it, “If there is hope, it lies within the proles”, which captures the strength that the proles potentially have if they unite together. Yet, considering the fact they have not been educated about the Party, they tend to neglect this issue and place more emphasis on their own needs (for example, fighting over the saucepans). Winston’s description of the proles demonstrated that the ‘working class’ proles were mistreated physiologically due to their ‘class’. This is evident when mentioned at the beginning of the text, “The Party taught that the proles were natural inferiors who must be held in subjection, like animals…”, implying that everyone who falls within the category of a ‘prole’ is not valued in the eyes of the Party, they are not humans but in fact ‘animals’. This contradicts Peter Corning’s three pillars of complexity, which are equality, equity, and reciprocity. The reason this relates to the elaborative social class structures in ‘1984’, and more specifically to the proles, is that they are not treated equally by the government, and as a result, they are not treated equally in other classes. The government's famous motto, “The proles and animals are free”, implies that the proles have no place in Oceania's society and that their sole functions are “work and breed”.
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Samuel Farber stated: “George Orwell ultimately saw the working class as the only force that could build an egalitarian, socialist society”, claiming that George Orwell saw the working class as the only group capable of creating an equal society for all. This was established in post-war Britain (1945-1965) because the proles (working class) became a warning of what the population may become if they were not educated. The novel ‘1984’ was written in 1948, and at the time, social class structures were slowly eroding. Gradually, the living standards began to change, but this was not complete; instead, there were fewer restrictions in the classes. Since the working class (proles) are known as the lowest of all the classes, they are referred to as ‘animals’ as a result of their unfortunate position in society. Orwell as a socialist wanted to end institutionalized privileges and economic justice, he wrote ‘1984’ with the addition of the proletarians. Displaying his ambivalence about the working class and their unconsciousness of their surroundings. But also criticizing the political totalitarian regime consisting of elaborative systems of social class.
Summing up, through the proles we witness a development of elaborative social class systems in ‘1984’, with a complicated social class system due to one's limits. Where the ones in power create a visible division between the privileged and the non-privileged.
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