Extension COMMUNISM, CAPITALISM AND ANIMALISM By the end of Chapter 2, the parallels between the Russian Revolution and the plot of Animal Farm come out more clearly. Manor Farm symbolises Russia under the Tsars, with Mr Jones representing Tsar Nicholas II, indifferent to the people’s poor condition. As we said in Extension 1, Old Major corresponds to both Karl Marx and Lenin. The former explained the political philosophy behind Communism; the latter put these theories into practice. Old Major’s speech to the other animals has many similarities to Marx’s Communist Manifesto and to Lenin’s writings. In Chapter 1, Old Major tells the animals that they can create a new, equal society based on the principle that “All animals are equal”. In Chapter 2, Snowball, Napoleon and Squealer develop these ideas into an ideology called Animalism. Animalism corresponds to , according to which property, especially the means of production, are held in common by all the people. The Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries caused the rise of – an economic system in which the companies and industry of a country were controlled for profit by private owners rather than by the government. That meant that most property and, therefore, power were in the hands of a minority of people. The majority belonged to the working class or . Today, all capitalist systems are mixed-economy systems, i.e., private and public property of the means of production co-exist. Orwell was a socialist and supported the creation of a government in which freedom, social equality and brotherhood (the motto of the 1789 French Revolution), plus moral dignity were the bases on which to build a new society, in opposition to selfish, individual interests. 1 Communism 2 Capitalism proletariat 3 Bolsheviks storming the Winter Palace. : the story of a book, film or play. : the act of becoming more important, successful, powerful, etc. : friendship and understanding between people. 1. plot 2. rise 3. brotherhood