Are words defined by the dictionary, or by common consent of the populace?
If you want to use the dictionary, you will see that in each and every dictionary you consult, the word anarchy has a definition that says quite clearly and quite simply that it is an absence of government. The Greek roots of the word tell you exactly what the word means. Yes, there are also definitions that imply chaos, and perhaps that is what the popular mind associates with the word. These supplemental definitions have been tacked on by people’s continued misuse of the language until finally codified by the Dictionary Gods. And George Orwell’s opinion on anarchy, if it was indeed as you attempted to formulate it, sounds like so much gibberish. It may be impossible to find a word more opposite of anarchy as totalitarianism. Attempting to make them synonyms is to render language meaningless. Black can be white and up is down. Linguistic anarchy! (Sarcasm alert. Sarcasm alert.) And while we’re exploring the dictionary, here’s a word for you: Irony. The definition of irony is a person
