‘Lord of the Rings’, ‘Narnia’ and Orwell is Far-Right Extremism according to the UK Government
It would be laughable if it weren't so terrifying and it may come as a surprise but back in 2023 the UK government's Prevent programme, tasked with identifying radical ideologies, branded books like 1984 by George Orwell, alongside The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, as possible indicators of far-right extremism. Yes, you read that right: Orwell, whose dystopian masterpiece warned against totalitarianism and state surveillance, has now been accused of promoting the very ideology he spent his life fighting against.
The list, as it stands, reads like a who’s who of literary giants known for their moral clarity, warnings against tyranny, and defence of individual freedom. The inclusion of 1984, alongside works by Tolkien and Lewis, in Prevent’s list highlights just how deep into absurdity government thinking has drifted, driven by a far-left agenda that no longer recognises the difference between timeless social critique and dangerous extremism.
Orwell’s ‘1984’: A Critique of Totalitarianism, Not a Manual for Extremists
Let’s start with Orwell. Written in 1949, 1984 is a searing critique of authoritarian regimes and the total control of thought and speech through propaganda and surveillance. Orwell's Big Brother is a warning to future generations to guard against the very kind of overreach we now see in Prevent and many government institutions itself. To twist Orwell’s intent and classify 1984 as ‘far-right’ reveals a stunning level of intellectual laziness, or worse, a deliberate attempt to suppress critiques of government overreach.
The book portrays the dangers of state power when it becomes so all-encompassing that it monitors every thought, controls every narrative, and destroys any form of dissent. Prevent, by targeting this very book, is ironically engaging in the very behaviour Orwell warned against – smothering free thought under the guise of protecting society.
Tolkien and Lewis: Defenders of Moral Virtue, Not Extremism
The inclusion of The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia only deepens the absurdity. Tolkien’s epic saga is a tale of good vs. evil, where the smallest and most humble characters – like Frodo and Sam – save the world through sheer perseverance, compassion, and moral courage. The values celebrated in Tolkien’s work aren’t just virtuous; they are universal. The notion that standing against a Dark Lord who wishes to enslave all of Middle-earth could be considered ‘extremist’ is nothing short of preposterous.
For decades, Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings has been celebrated not only for its world-building but for the deep human values it conveys. The story’s heart lies in loyalty, courage, and the battle to preserve free will and protect the vulnerable from evil forces. Is the government now suggesting that standing up against the all-consuming power of authoritarianism is extremist?
Similarly, C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia are infused with Christian allegory, focusing on themes of redemption, sacrifice, and the triumph of good over evil. Aslan, the Christ-like figure in Narnia, embodies forgiveness, love, and hope.
The Chronicles of Narnia represents a timeless allegory of personal growth, integrity, and the eternal battle between good and evil. C.S. Lewis, a devout Christian, infused the series with Christian virtues of forgiveness, redemption, and selflessness. How on earth can anyone equate these messages of moral clarity and compassion with extremism?
These are hardly the values one would associate with extremism of any kind, much less far-right ideology. So, what exactly is Prevent trying to prevent?
Classic Literature as Scapegoats for Ideological Control
By labelling such classics as potentially dangerous, the far-left influence over government institutions becomes glaringly obvious. Instead of tackling real extremist threats, the focus has shifted towards erasing anything that challenges the ultra-progressive orthodoxy. The result? A list of books that have been revered for decades, now suddenly lumped in with dangerous content simply because they champion values and ideas that don’t align with an increasingly narrow, dogmatic worldview.
This isn't just a misjudgement. It’s an alarming attempt to rewrite cultural norms and silence any literature that promotes traditional virtues like courage, freedom, and the battle against evil. It shows how deeply the far-left has infiltrated our institutions, seeking not to protect society from extremism, but to stamp out any challenge to their ideological agenda.
Prevent or Suppress? A War on Ideas
The very idea that works like Orwell’s 1984, Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, and Lewis’s Narnia could be considered extremist is laughable at best and dystopian at worst. The sheer irony here is that 1984 itself warned of exactly this kind of intellectual dishonesty: the rewriting of history, the erasure of dissenting ideas, and the policing of thought through fear.
Prevent was created to combat genuine threats to public safety. It’s supposed to be a safeguard against ideologies that promote hatred and violence, not a tool to police cultural thought and expression. The far-left has turned it into an ideological weapon, blurring the lines between actual extremism and classical values that have shaped Western civilisation for centuries.
What we are witnessing now is the attempted silencing of great works that promote the kind of moral clarity and personal responsibility that flies in the face of far-left authoritarianism. If the Prevent programme is now in the business of policing thought, it’s not extremism they’re stamping out – it’s freedom of thought itself.
The Real Threat
The real threat here isn’t 1984, The Lord of the Rings, or The Chronicles of Narnia. The real threat is the unchecked spread of far-left ideology through government programmes designed to control the narrative, suppress dissent, and marginalise traditional values.
It’s a shocking inversion of Orwell’s warning – a case of a state adopting the very measures he warned us about, using ‘extremism’ as a catch-all term to suppress anything that doesn’t fit their narrow vision of what is acceptable. Prevent has lost sight of its mission, and in doing so, is steering us toward the very dystopian future Orwell predicted – a future where the state dictates not just our actions, but our thoughts.
If we allow this overreach to continue, it won’t just be 1984 and Narnia on the blacklist. It will be the very foundation of free thought, free expression, and the timeless values that define us as a society. And that is something we cannot afford to lose.
I think this is what happens when Communists take over your country. They go after intellectuals, doctors, churches, and people of morality. They want a twisted world where the rules always change and nobody can break the mold.
1984 has never been more important to read, in it you can find the truths about todays governments.
They don't care about you. They care about control.