Rudyard Kipling Summary

Kipling has been despised by five literary generations because he is reportedly fascistic. Orwell condemns Kipling's imperialist view of life as untenable and egregious, and concludes that Kipling is, in fact, a jingo imperialist, morally insensitive, and aesthetically disgusting. Yet, with all of these horrible aspects, Kipling continues as a popular poet.

Although usually condemned as a Fascist, Kipling was not guilty of this particular worldview. For example, one poem typically indicated as Fascist is in actuality anti-Germanic and refers to the Germans as being lawless. To a modern sensibility, much of Kipling's philosophy is nonsensical. The post-Hitler world realizes that force may only be overcome with greater force - morality has no Part 1n the equation - there is no law, only power. Kipling, however, believed there was indeed a natural law and order to politics that was not only...