Quote of the Day: Writer George Orwell on Happiness—‘Men Can Only Be Happy’ When They Aren’t Searching for Happiness as Life’s Main Point

Whether you’ve read 1984 or not, George Orwell’s iconic book has embedded itself into our collective consciousness, introducing concepts like “Big Brother,” “Thought Police,” “doublethink” and more. You’ve probably even heard of the term “Orwellian,” which comes from his name and famous novel. It’s an adjective that’s used to describe something that is opposed to or the antithesis of a free society, like the dystopian world in 1984.

But of course, Orwell didn’t just write that book; a few years before that, he wrote the novella, Animal Farm, a “political fable based on the story of the Russian Revolution,” per Britannica. He also wrote many essays, articles and more; most of them were variations of political commentary, social criticism and shared his opposition to totalitarianism. And in one of those essays comes our quote of the day, which highlights his thoughts on how hard it is to find happiness in times of turmoil. 

Orwell was born Eric Blair in 1903 in India, since his father was serving the British Empire at the time. According to the Orwell Foundation, Orwell is deemed as “one of the world’s most influential writers” and a “visionary author.” After a few years of health struggles and being hospitalized for tuberculosis, he died in January 1950 at the age of 46 due to complications brought on by his illness, per Britannica.

He was well-known internationally for his novels, writing and journalism right up until his death, and his legacy lives on today. Orwell had a lot of scathing, witty and very valid things to say about politics, government and society. And he didn’t shy away from satirizing and commenting on even complicated or controversial topics like revolutions, world leaders and even his friends. Today’s quote is from an essay he wrote about one of his closest writer confidants, and it very much doesn’t shy from criticism, talking about how it’s easier to find happiness when it’s not your main goal in life.

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Quote of the Day by George Orwell

“Men can only be happy when they do not assume that the object of life is happiness.”

This quote appears in George Orwell’s Critical Essays, published in 1946. This is a collection of pieces Orwell wrote during wartime and touches on various topics, from English literature to pop culture. 

Specifically, this line is in the chapter (or essay) titled “Arthur Koestler,” which is dated 1944 and named after the Austro-Hungarian-born author and journalist. Orwell and Koestler were friends who met during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s and bonded as they were both a part of leftist and anti-fascist causes, per the Orwell Institute. They “had a friendship based on shared concerns about totalitarianism, political ideologies and the impact of World War II.”

A couple of paragraphs above this quote, Orwell writes that Koestler calls himself a “short-term pessimist,” that he deals with “every kind of horror” that’s “blowing up over the horizon,” but that he believes that “somehow it will all come right in the end.” Which—as World War II was brewing and the rise of fascism was happening in multiple countries—was an accurate description of the times. And so, because of that, Orwell does note that this way of thinking and looking at life was probably becoming popular.

“Since about 1930, the world has given no reason for optimism whatever,” he writes.

Then, he says that really only those who are religious have a view that allows them not to wallow in despair, but he then notes that that group of people is diminishing. He then writes the line:

“The real problem is how to restore the religious attitude while accepting death as final. Men can only be happy when they do not assume that the object of life is happiness.”

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Deeper Meaning of George Orwell’s Quote—Happiness in Life

This 1944 essay includes a lot of Orwell’s deep thoughts on political revolutions, leftist ideals and how Koestler thinks that the only outcome to revolutions is to become a “short-term pessimist.” And in that context, this quote basically means that, in a world that is between two world wars and in a lot of political turmoil and civil unrest, humans can’t think about the meaning of life being happiness, because happiness seems so far gone. 

As he notes right before our quote of the day, Orwell writes that Christian churches would go out of business if they only had “their own merits” to survive with, and not a promise of eternal life to their congregation. So, if people didn’t have the hope of an afterlife, they might fall into a doom spiral. Or if they held onto the hope that one day they could achieve the full purpose of life—to be happy—they would also be distraught because “happiness” does not feel attainable in their current climate. 

We all have different responsibilities and challenges in our lives, and while they might bring about feelings of stress or discomfort at times (instead of happiness 24/7), empathy, sacrifice and self-growth that leads to resilience often leads to a true, greater contentment in ourselves than simply being “happy” because nothing is going wrong.

Related: Quote of the Day: Ralph Waldo Emerson on Self-Reliance and Staying True to Yourself

More Quotes from George Orwell

• “Progress is not an illusion, it happens, but it is slow and invariably disappointing.”
• “The average millionaire is only the average dishwasher dressed in a new suit.”
• “Whoever is winning at the moment will always seem to be invincible.”
• “Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.”
• “If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.”
• “There are some situations from which one can only escape by acting like a devil or a lunatic.”
• “The consequences of every act are included in the act itself.”

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