Why would The Party be suspicious of "ownlife" as it is called in Newspeak?

In the totalitarian regime of Oceania, the Party controls every aspect of society and oppresses the citizens through the use of constant surveillance, propaganda, manufactured hysteria, and violence. The Party also expects its members behave completely orthodox by revering Big Brother, volunteering during free hours, and willingly participating in all government functions. Individuality is also prohibited and virtually non-existent in the totalitarian state, which requires unflagging loyalty and love for Big Brother. As a way to combat individualism, the Party is extremely suspicious of what it calls "OWNLIFE," which is any kind of individualism and eccentricity. The Party views individuality as a threat to their regime and is extremely wary of individuals spending too much time alone. They would prefer individuals to remain in the company of others, where their behavior can be observed by other Party members, who carefully watch and monitor their peers. Any diversion from the norm or behavior that is not completely orthodox is considered a threat to the regime. Judging from Winston Smith's actions, "OWNLIFE" is something the Party must carefully monitor and punish in order to maintain its firm grip on the population.


In Party jargon, or Newspeak, "ownlife" refers to any kind of eccentricity or individualism. In this totalitarian state, anything that smacks of individuality or wanting to do your own thing is regarded as dangerous. The Party's absolute power is reliant on total uniformity among the citizens of Oceania; everyone must think the same and act the same. There's no place for any difference or diversity whatsoever. If people start behaving as individuals then they might start getting ideas about acting subversively, taking steps to overthrow the one-party state.
In Oceania, your life is not your own; it belongs entirely to the Party. The Party tells you what to do, what to say and what to think. So long as it controls everyone's life the Party will remain all-powerful. However, if people somehow manage to break away from the constraints imposed upon them by the Party, then they will have lives of their own, "ownlives" free from state control. For the sake of its own survival, that's not something that the Party must ever allow to happen.

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