Depressing, but you are on to something. Not much I can add, except the impression that with each passing year Orwell seems more and more like a clairvoyant:

"Power-worship blurs political judgment because it leads, almost unavoidably, to the belief that present trends will continue. Whoever is winning at the moment will always seem to be invincible." — George Orwell

"If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face -- forever." — George Orwell