Winston writes that hope lies in the proles

Winston writes in his diary: 'If there is hope, it lies in the proles.' He believes that only the proles, who make up 85 per cent of the population of Oceania, have the power to destroy the Party. The Party cannot be overthrown from within, because its enemies have no way of coming together. The proles need only to become conscious of their own strength and rise up. He remembers a street market incident where a mob of women fought over tin saucepans, and the tremendous cry of anger and despair that momentarily frightened him. Yet they could never shout like that about anything that mattered.