The plurality of virtues is real, but in his novel 1984, people lack the words to name them. People are unfree not simply because their bodies are always observed but because their language is famished. In 1984, the reduction of the number of English words is a cumbersome affair, drudge work carried out by people in offices. In our lives, social media reduce our vocabulary (and thus our references) at terrifying speed. Colonized on our couches, we accept a pidgin of English.
