In Goldstein’s book is an examination of the importance of wasting resources.
Use labour to produce something which can be scrapped as obsolete, without having brought any material benefit to anybody.
War is to consume any surplus that might exist after meeting the bare needs of the population. The needs of the population must always be underestimated so there is a chronic shortage of necessities.
It is a deliberate policy to keep favoured groups near the brink of hardship, to increase the importance of small privileges and magnify the distinction between one group and another.
Members of the Inner Party enjoy a few luxuries in a different world from a member of the Outer Party. Members of the Outer Party have a similar advantage in comparison with the masses called ‘proles’.
The use of constant war, therefore danger, makes handing power to a small caste seem the natural, unavoidable condition of survival.