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Under such circumstances, Orwell argued, 'pacifism is an intellectual curiosity rather than a political movement'

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Some lessons from George Orwell

"Pure pacifism can only appeal to people in very sheltered positions." While reading George Orwell's essay The Lion and The Unicorn, one must pinch oneself at times: this could have been written today.

Instead, Orwell wrote these lines in 1941.

First of all, a caveat: Orwell got it wrong with his main message.

In the ...

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Disclaimer

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s, not those of EUobserver

Author Bio

Caroline de Gruyter is Europe correspondent and columnist for the Dutch newspaper NRC, Foreign Policy and De Standaard. This column is adapted from a recent piece in De Standaard.

Under such circumstances, Orwell argued, 'pacifism is an intellectual curiosity rather than a political movement'

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Author Bio

Caroline de Gruyter is Europe correspondent and columnist for the Dutch newspaper NRC, Foreign Policy and De Standaard. This column is adapted from a recent piece in De Standaard.

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