The road to ideological monopoly is paved by ambush AND charge, often employed in respective succession. C.S. Lewis’ fictional “N.I.C.E.” organization employs this methodology, combining subtle thought alteration tactics (usually propagated in media format) with arrant barbarism through the emergence of an omnipresent, corrupt police force. When ideology is viewed through the same critical lense as technological advancement, then such steps appears warranted, a consequence of “axiomatically driven,” self-righteous, willful tunnel vision. As a resident of the United States, it’s easy to dismiss such patterns as unlikely, or downright impossible. Brushing off such realities yields a lighter load on the shoulders, but results in historical ignorance — a disservice to those who have, and are suffering under totalitarian rule.
Hindsight into the not-so-distant past lends credence to Lewis’ timely inclusion of N.I.C.E.’s police. Read the following passage from That Hideous Strength: “At every corner, and often in between, lounged or sauntered the N.I.C.E. police, helmeted, swinging their clubs, with revolvers in holsters on their black shiny belts” (Lewis 212). Would it not be all too plausible to replace “N.I.C.E.” with “Schutzstaffel” or “Cheka”? This is because communists and fascists alike adhere to the same, established strategy — that “the building of a new society must coincide with the intensification of the campaign against its enemies” (Legutko 119). It is only when protestant minds acquiesce that the noble future can advance with full steam ahead. It is only when dissenters are broken into submission that the engine of progress can chug forward on smooth tracks. It is only when one removes the pebble in his/her shoe that a full sprint can ensue.
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