When the Pigs Learn to Walk on Two Legs

Can you imagine a world in which pigs walk on two legs? It sounds like the beginning of a science fiction story. Or perhaps the beginning of a revolution. 

Revolutions often begin with promises of equality but end with the concentration of power in the hands of a few. In Animal Farm, published in 1945, George Orwell uses the Russian Revolution as his historical inspiration while delivering a warning that extends far beyond that moment in history.  The author described a pattern that emerges wherever power forgets the ideals on which it was founded. Orwell explored how principles can slowly transform into privileges, how propaganda can become more powerful than truth, and how ordinary people can eventually find themselves in the position of the animals on the farm—uncertain of whom they can still trust.

Reading Animal Farm today, it is easy to see how Orwell’s message still resonates in Serbia. 

One of the most painful events in recent years was the collapse of the railway station canopy in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024 , a tragedy that claimed the lives of 16 people.What should have been an ordinary day, turned into one of the darkest moments in Serbia’s recent history. People were doing what they had done countless times before—waiting for a train, meeting loved ones, or simply passing through a place they believed was safe.

I had walked through that very station many times myself. I remember the familiar sound of trains arriving and departing, the conversations echoing across the platforms, and the comforting feeling that came with this place I knew so well. It never crossed my mind that such an ordinary place could become the scene of unimaginable tragedy.

In the days and weeks that followed, grief was accompanied by questions. Could the collapse have been prevented? Who was responsible? Why did it seem so difficult to receive clear and timely answers? Public debate soon shifted from the collapse itself to the decisions that had preceded it. People questioned whether the station’s renovation had been properly carried out and whether public safety had been compromised by corruption, negligence, or political interests.

The disaster sparked months of protests across the country, as many citizens demanded accountability, transparency, and a thorough investigation into the reconstruction of the station. Although official investigations and legal proceedings are underway, many questions remain unanswered, leaving a significant part of the public with a deep sense of distrust toward state institutions. 

Over time, the collapsed canopy has come to symbolize much more than a tragic accident.  It represents a system in which accountability is difficult to achieve, public information is not always easily accessible, and political narratives often replace honest and open dialogue.

These concerns echo a broader theme explored in Orwell’s Animal Farm: the way ideals can gradually be weakened when those in power stop being accountable to those they represent. 

At the beginning of the novel, the animals fight for freedom and equality. Their dream is simple: a society where every animal has the same rights and where no one is above another. But as time passes, the rules begin to change—slowly, almost invisibly. One day, the commandment written on the barn wall no longer says what it once did. It now reads:

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”This change shows that unequal systems survive not only through power and fear, but also through controlling how people understand truth and reality. 

It is perhaps the most famous sentence in political satire ever written. Not because it is about animals, but because it reveals a deeper truth about human society: how easily the idea of equality can be distorted to justify privilege and power.

One of the novel’s truly powerful characters, at least for me, is Squealer—the pig responsible for propaganda. His role is not to reveal the truth, but to reshape reality in a way that makes every decision of the leadership appear reasonable and necessary, even when it contradicts the principles they once defended. His greatest skill is transforming contradictions into explanations and convincing others that reality is exactly as they are told it is.

When reality no longer supports the narrative, the narrative does not change.

Reality does.

Modern propaganda can operate through selective reporting, repeated narratives, and the delegitimization of critics. These methods can influence how people understand events and institutions.

In Serbia, the same protests may be presented by different media outlets as either legitimate public concerns or a threat to stability, while critics are often discussed through labels rather than their arguments.

This reflects one of Orwell’s central concerns in Animal Farm: how power can be maintained by controlling information and shaping public perception. 

Corruption is not limited to envelopes of cash exchanged behind closed doors.While bribery is one of its clearest expressions, corruption can also take quieter forms: the misuse of power, the erosion of accountability, and the gradual weakening of institutions meant to serve the public.  

Corruption begins when institutions stop serving citizens and start protecting themselves. It begins when political loyalty becomes more valuable than competence, when transparency becomes selective, and when accountability becomes a political matter rather than a legal and moral responsibility.

In such an environment, people gradually lose trust—not only in politicians, but also in courts, public institutions, and the media.

That is why the protests following the Novi Sad tragedy became much more than demonstrations over a single accident. For many participants, they represented a broader demand for institutions that function independently and apply the law equally to everyone, regardless of political affiliation or social status.

The greatest strength of Animal Farm is not that it tells us who the villain is.

Instead, its enduring value lies  in the uncomfortable question it asks:

How does a society allow its principles to change so slowly that almost nobody notices?

Orwell did not write a book against one country.

He wrote a book against the abuse of power.

That is why it remains as relevant today as it was eighty years ago—not only in Serbia, but anywhere political power becomes more important than independent institutions, official narratives increasingly overshadow independent scrutiny , and justice moves more slowly than truth.

Ultimately, a nation’s strength depends not only on its leaders, but on whether citizens trust that institutions are fair, accountable, and capable of protecting the principles they were created to serve. 

Until that trust is restored, the line between a society built on equality  and the one ruled by privilege can become  dangerously blurred-until, as Orwell warned, even the impossible begins to look normal, and pigs can walk on two legs.