Osler's Razor

When I was in high school, I read George Orwell's "1984." I remember the whole thing seeming a little silly, since it was already 1980, and everything seemed pretty normal.

The problem, of course, is that I wasn't a very good reader. The book was not intended as a prediction, but a metaphor. I only got that a few decades later, in a conversation with my parents and my brother (all of whom are better readers than I am). 

Thinking about it now, maybe the most prescient insight involves the "Inner Party" and the "Outer Party" which run the government. The Inner Party is composed of a core group of people who decide what will happen while the Outer Party implements them. Truth is skillfully manipulated by changing reporting of facts and the destruction of documents that may contradict the party line.

If the Trump administration intended anything like this (and many are using 1984 in this way), there have been two major failures already. First, Trump has been largely unable to form an Outer Party-- the bureaucrats that comply with his directions. He has left many positions open, and others are filled by holdovers. It is unclear if he and his staff have the capacity to ever fulfill this goal (if it is a goal).  Second, the failure of the Trump-supported health care bill reveals the inability of an Inner Party to come up with a "truth" that can be manifested through government. 

Have you read the book? What are you thinking about it lately?