In the fictive country Orwell described in his novel 1984, these slogans appear repeatedly:

WAR IS PEACE

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

They are startling, confusing, but insistent. The commonly accepted truth—that ‘war’ contrasts with ‘peace’, that ‘slavery’ is the opposite of ‘freedom’—is rejected. Consensus about what is right and wrong is elimina