The Repressive Governments of Zamiatin's We and Orwell's 1984 Throughout time, people have wondered what happens when government gains complete control not only over people's actions, but over the thoughts that precede them. Is it even possible to gain such omnipotence over human nature that human beings will renounce all individuality? If such a society could exist, would human nature truly be conquered, or just subdued sufficiently that the will of the few could be contorted into the will of the general population? The British author Eric Blair, better known by his pen name George Orwell,