Huxley vs Orwell who got it right? Comix

[malthaussen]

82. I think Huxley undervalued the importance of schadenfreude.

This, too me, is such an important ingredient to where our culture sits right now that I tend to harp on it a lot, especially since people like Bernie, good as he is on so many things, appears to not take it into account. Huxley's quote in the O.P. is a point of departure: that "the ruling oligarchy will find less arduous and wasteful ways of governing and of satisfying its lust for power," He is thinking only in terms of the practical exercise and extension of power, whereas I sincerely believe that many in power get a distinct pleasure out of seeing suffering and using it as both a contrast and a justification of their own excesses. Plus, of course, sheer bloody-mindedness, as anyone who watches Donald Trump should be able to see.
The ruling class may even satisfy their need for schadenfreude at the expense of practicality and efficiency. Man is not, ultimately, only an economic being.

-- Mal