The main question is - is 1984-type society stable ? All this lamenting about hamstringed sheeple and fascist state does no good if it cannot motivate some effective resistance.
My take is that via decimation of the middle class, successful subverting of the education system and development of the best propaganda machinery in the known history, the grounds are ready for a long-term stable totalitarian state. The WTC theatre was a masterpiece. I don't know if USG directly, indirectly or via simple negligence sponsored that event - but I am positive that the mythology of "government is too dumb to do anything intelligent" is outright wrong. They are not dumb. The WTC was used with extreme efficiency - I don't think that they missed any aspect of capitalizing on it. So, what can be done to blow the brains of the fascist state? The small, or better negligible number of intellectuals and desperadoes of various kinds (from cypherpunks to militias) are not going to do it. Not enough discomfort, balls and guns. Foreign opponents ? Unlikely. Europe has no military to speak of, and 60,000 US troops in wiesbaden have tight control of the nuclear arsenal. The only semi-independent power is France. Russia ? It's still trying to stop the slide into the third world. So that leaves us with china, and it seems that chinese are in a mood for having two cooperating fascist governments rather than war. Who then ? I see the only hope in some unforeseen development, most likely technological, that would disrupt the mechanics of the empire faster than the empire can coopt it. This has happened in the fast. Gutenberg's press effectively destroyed the church's power. I think that this is the main reason behind massive clampdown on research of any kind. The empire knows that runaway knowledge and intelligence can kill it - therefore it will ban it. This is not about bioweapons or something known. This is the drive to achieve the monopoly on the knowledge and ensure the longevity of the empire. Empire knows very well that if someone, in some garage, invents a zap gun, that may be the end of it. And this regularly happened in the history. So, read books, do experiments and teach others the same. Don't forget to play good consumers during the day - you don't want to get on the List. We will know when someone invents the Zap Gun. You'll see heads exploding on live TV.
