I'm sure that's where Orwell intended and is a legitimate interpretation. But, I can't help but think that, if this were what the Party intended, it'd be a lot easier just to dispense with all this War-is-Peace nonsense and *just* provide the material improvement of quality-of-life.

The Party may, indeed, have the power and may, indeed, be virtually impossible to overthrow, but I still see this as the result of paranoia that *someone* will take it from them.