The answer
rests with the paradoxical nature of the Party itself. How it rules is the exact opposite of how
its propaganda says it controls.It goes directly into the concept of doublethink, which Emmanuel
Goldstein explains through the word "blackwhite":
But it means also
the ability to believe that black is white, and more, to know that black is white, and to forget
that one has ever believed the contrary. This demands a continuous alteration of the past, made
possible by the system of thought which really embraces all the rest, and which is known in
title="Newspeak">Newspeak as doublethink. Doublethink is basically the
power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of
them.
Thus, according to the Party, "war is peace" means that they
continually "fight" wars in order to keep peace at home. During times of war, nations
generally unite. Of course, if the people are focused on a common enemy, they are much less
inclined to notice how unhappy they are in their own lives. So they make less trouble for their
government. "Freedom is slavery" can be thought of in the same way. the slavery of
Party members equals freedom for Party leaders. Finally, "Ignorance is strength" can
be read "Your ignorance is our strength", again meaning that the ignorance of the
people translates into the strength of the government.
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