brainworkers

The concept of "brainworkers" emerged as a central ideological justification for the pigs' privileged position within the newly established Animal Farm, directly countering the egalitarian principles of Old Major's original teachings. In his foundational speech, Old Major had described the lives of animals as "miserable, laborious, and short," and had insisted that no animal should ever "tyrannise over his own kind." However, the pigs—particularly Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer—soon began to elaborate these teachings into a system called Animalism, taking on the roles of teachers and organisers. They taught themselves to read and write from an old spelling book, a skill that set them apart from the other animals.

The term "brainworkers" was first explicitly used by Squealer to justify the pigs' exclusive consumption of milk and apples, which he claimed were necessary for their health as the intellectual leaders of the farm. "We pigs are brainworkers," he declared, arguing that the entire management and organisation of the farm depended on them, and that their privileges were ultimately for the benefit of all animals—otherwise, Jones would return. This logic was extended to other perks: the pigs moved into the farmhouse, slept in beds, and later began to wear human clothes, all while Squealer's sophistry convinced the other animals that such actions were not violations of the Seven Commandments. The animals worked long hours, often with insufficient food, but Squealer's lists of figures proved—or seemed to prove—that production had increased and that conditions were better than under Jones. Meanwhile, the pigs engaged in mysterious paperwork—files, reports, minutes, memoranda—that were burned after being written, a performance of labour that the other animals could not understand.

The brainworker ideology also served to suppress dissent and rewrite history. When the animals questioned the pigs' new policies, Squealer was sent to explain, using the same rhetorical formula: loyalty and obedience were more important than bravery, and without iron discipline, Jones would return. He later accused Snowball of being a traitor and a secret agent of Jones, fabricating documents and manipulating memories to justify the executions of animals who had protested. The sheep, the most gullible of the animals, were taught to bleat "Four legs good, two legs bad" at crucial moments, drowning out any opposition. Even the revolutionary song "Beasts of England" was abolished, replaced by a hymn to Napoleon, and the animals' hope for a future of equality was gradually eroded, though they still clung to the belief that all animals were equal.

Ultimately, the brainworker concept paved the way for the pigs' complete transformation into human-like tyrants. The pigs began to walk on their hind legs, carry whips, and wear human clothes. At the final banquet, the pigs were indistinguishable from the human farmers, playing cards and drinking together. The original commandment "All animals are equal" had been amended to "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others," a direct institutionalization of the brainworker ideology. The farm had been renamed back to Manor Farm, and the green flag was now plain. The concept of brainworkers, once a justification for necessary leadership, had become the foundation of a new hierarchy as oppressive as the old human regime.