On this episode of The Hillsdale College Online Courses Podcast, Jeremiah and Juan discuss how totalitarian states destroy the human spirit before introducing Hillsdale College president Dr. Larry P. Arnn.

Totalitarian novels depict regimes that exert complete and pervasive control over the lives of their subjects. George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Arthur Koestler, and C.S. Lewis imagine the terrible possibilities of unchecked modern tyranny. Join Larry P. Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, and Hillsdale College students in this exploration of 1984, Brave New World, Darkness at Noon, and That Hideous Strength.

The course includes four lectures and four conversations, each about 30 minutes long. It is structured with one lecture about each book followed by a conversation between Dr. Arnn and the students about themes from that book.

Orwell explores the possibility of a regime influencing human nature by controlling history and reforming language to limit the range of ideas its subjects can contemplate. Although the novel does not provide hope to the characters, the reader is inspired to courageous resistance against such a regime.

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On this episode of The Hillsdale College Online Courses Podcast, Jeremiah and Juan introduce the course "Totalitarian Novels."

Totalitarian novels depict regimes that exert complete and pervasive control over the lives of their subjects. George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Arthur Koestler, and C.S. Lewis imagine the terrible possibilities of unchecked modern tyranny. Join Larry P. Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, and Hillsdale College students in this exploration of 1984, Brave New World, Darkness at Noon, and That Hideous Strength.

The course includes four lectures and four conversations, each about 30 minutes long. It is structured with one lecture about each book followed by a conversation between Dr. Arnn and the students about themes from that book.

In George Orwell’s 1984, the regime is dedicated to power. The Party ensures that its members obey through pain and torture, as shown when O’Brien tortures Winston.

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On this episode of The Hillsdale College Online Courses Podcast, Jeremiah and Juan discuss Communism's transformation into a popular political position in the United States.

In “Marxism, Socialism, and Communism,” professors of history, politics, and economics look at Marx’s life and writings, the misery and brutality in the Soviet Union, the atrocities of communist China, and the proliferation of Cultural Marxism in America. They explore how many ideas animating American politics today are rooted in Marxism, and yet how they differ from Marx’s thought. By taking Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, and the Frankfurt School seriously, we can see the injustice and evil inherent in all strands of Marxism. We also better understand the critiques of communism made by Mises, Hayek, and Solzhenitsyn. We are, therefore, better equipped to defeat it.

Cultural Marxism focuses on Marx’s social critiques rather than his economic theories. Cultural Marxists claim that social structures cause the systemic oppression of minority groups. Their critiques center on race, sex, and gender, rather than economic class. Following the 2008 financial crisis, Marx’s economic theories returned to prominence and have combined with the cultural Marxist theories to animate many American political and cultural movements.

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