Orwell's reach is wide, and I still have the 1984 "Commemorative" edition of 1984 that I read for social studies class. During the midst of Reaganmania, we read 1984 and Animal Farm in class and the teacher did try to ram home the point to 12 and 13 year olds that socialism leads straight to totalitarianism.
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Incidentally, Animal Farm was required reading for high school students in the USSR during the Gorbachev era.
Chris Doss The Russia Journal