We were delighted to be joined by Dominic Cummings, Richard Evans, Gideon Rachman, and Katja Hoyer on 23 June 2022 to unpack Bismarck’s understanding of political power, how Bismarck has been understood historically, and whether Bismarck’s approach to politics is still relevant. The discussion was chaired by Ken Macdonald QC, Chair of Trustees of The Orwell Foundation. This event was a part of the Orwell Festival of Political Writing, sponsored by Substack and supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Institute of Advanced Studies in UCL, bringing together the shortlisted writers for The Orwell Prizes 2022, along with some special guests, in a series of events to discuss the most important and exciting political thinking and writing today.

In 1944, Orwell lambasted Otto von Bismarck and the ‘modern cult of “realism”’ for whipping up ‘the revanchiste spirit in France’, leading to a protracted conflict between France and Germany. Almost eighty years later, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s claim over Taiwan have brought revanchist grievances back to the forefront of contemporary politics. With many commentators heralding these events as the return of great power politics, is Bismarck’s realpolitik the guide to the present moment or should we follow Orwell’s critical stance?

In the spirit of George Orwell’s fiction, nonfiction and journalism, The Orwell Foundation aims to celebrate honest and creative writing and reporting, uncover hidden lives, and confront uncomfortable truths. We take seriously Orwell’s injunction that if ‘Liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.’ As such, the Orwell Festival will be a space for difficult debate and diversity of opinion and viewpoints, encourage creativity and clarity of expression, provide a platform for unheard voices, and defend the right to individual conscience, whilst remaining politically impartial.

The Orwell Foundation would like to thank all our partners and sponsors: Substack, University College London, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Political Quarterly, A. M. Heath and George Orwell's son Richard Blair.