Animal Farm is a fable illustrating the inevitable degeneration of revolutionary ideals. According to the novel, this degeneration occurs because

social equality, the goal of such idealism, is actually undersirable

revolutionary ideals are dreamed by blood-thirsty individuals

man's greedy individualistic nature always subverts the realization of ideals

revolutionary ideals are inimical to progress

animals are the wrong characters to illustrate man's weaknesses.