I think, it's just the opposite. Since the fall of the communist idea (of course it has fallen already before), one religion now is dominant: Capitalism. Meaning, anybody that does not believe in the "true god", is guilty of Thoughtcrime.

Except they're not thrown in gulags, persecuted, or even inconvenienced. Quite a few self-proclaimed socialists and marxists I know, with public blogs and other hallmarks of modern political activism, work for large corporations. No one cares.

I live in Poland, a post-communist country. Just yesterday I heard an interview on (public) radio with some (state-sponsored) university professor arguing that life was better under the previous system. No one cares.

There is proper thoughtcrime, like racism, or denying holocaust that can get you in trouble, fired, even arrested. But that is still really mild compared to 1984 or 1984.

I think, we will see what will come. But when you state the wrong things even today you can get into trouble. Of course it is still not so obvious as in 1984 or in the USSR system, but things change rapidly today and I see it in "free" Germany as thoughts are forbidden and when you say them openly, you will be banned from the public.

It is just a small step from there to be arrested, as we saw before.

Even today, if you have the wrong name you can be disallowed from flying in the "land of the free". Because the government put your name on the list.

Some woman fought against this list, but the government even played tricks, that the trial could not go on. Where is there democracy or freedom?