Orwell wrote his review in 1944, and at this point, much of the history of collectivist economies had yet to be written, and much of what had happened already under them was yet to be known.

Now it's 2010. History's verdict came in a long time ago on which systems provide the most freedom, the most prosperity for the average person, and the greatest amount of innovation, technical progress, and social mobility.

There are countless historical examples of socialist and communist tyrannical nations. The only place I have ever seen capitalist/corporate tyrannical nations is in science fiction.

The first commenter on that website makes an important point: The State is always a monopoly. It's also a monopoly with a gun.

If you take the examples we are given of the worst excesses of capitalism (the Industrial Revolution, or America's "Gilded Age") you still find that the poor and lower classes were doing one hell of a lot better than those in less-capitalistic nations and regions. People flooded into America from Europe back then. Not many went back.

Orwell had limited information. A Leftist nowadays has little excuse.

Read the book. Don't believe it. The fantasy is too important.