Keeping the gears of society constantly spinning is far easier said than done.Such an achievement comes at a costly price,and in certain cases prices-repression,dehumanization, brainwash,to name a few.Such atrocities are evident in our modern society.Published in 1932,the science fiction novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley depicts a dystopia,perceived to be a Utopia by its indoctrinated inhabitants.Born into an intellectually distinguished family, Huxley was an essayist as well as a humanist.By utilizing propaganda,and highlighting as well as intensifying the flaws in society, Huxley’s Brave New World warns of the possibility of a nightmarish world,lacking any meaning.Government,rulers,authority,all the above can take intelligently cruel measures to achieve and maintain control,measures that contradict Western values.
It’s easy to influence minds that aren’t aware they are being influenced.With that,it’s even easier to embed whatever the influencer desires.With tactful conditioning,the World State crafts an “ideal” society,causing irreversible change to its citizens with its conditioning methods.Hypnopaedia,a kind of “sleep teaching” indoctrinates countless tenets.While children sleep,voice recording play nonstop until it becomes part of them: 'Till at last the child's mind is these suggestions-all his lifelong. But all these suggestions are our suggestions! Electroshock therapy gives infants an “instinctive hatred” towards knowledge and nature, by linking them with a negative experience (the shocks). They do this in order to keep people busy in factories,rather than to spend time enjoying the flora of the surrounding world.
The World State is a depiction of a dehumanized world full of mindless slaves. “There was something called liberalism…Liberty to be inefficient and miserable. Freedom to be a round peg in a square hole.”.The Brave New World Citizens believed they were free,but that perceived freedom was apart of their conditioning.All the decisions they made,the things they felt were really the inputs of their government entities.The freedom to even choose where one lies in the social caste is decided by lab workers when they are developing embryos.The lower social classes were engineered to be absolute morons who enjoyed their simple work,the work that acted as a gear to keep the social order turning.In a similar manner, the higher more intelligent classes were groomed in a way that they were content,and even proud of their intelligence and however hard they worked.This contentment is a major factor in keeping social stability.Not only are they slaves to their social castes,they are also slaves to expectations.Since “everyone belongs to everyone else,” it is expected that all individuals jump at every opportunity to “please” one another.Most evidently,they are slaves to their genetic conditioning.
Skillful distractions are another tool in the maintenance of stability. Problems are next to non-existent in the World State .'There's always soma to calm your anger, to reconcile you to your enemies, to make you patient and long-suffering.”[Mond 238] Any negative feelings can be instantly treated,any delightful ones amplified.Self-indulgence was used to keep up the spirits of those who practiced it.Familial relationships were severely frowned upon.Promiscuity is idolized and constantly encouraged.“Everyone belongs to everyone else, after all.”[Foster 149]Monogamy was believed to lead to emotional stress. Acquiring new things also brings a certain kind of happiness.Monogamy was believed to lead to emotional stress.Intimate relationships in general were not a blessing they could appreciate.Their belief that “ending is better than mending” was another form of hypnopaedic propaganda meaning it was better to buy what’s new rather keep than old. When one purchases new things,not only does it keep the economy running,but it brings a certain type of satisfaction,and that continuous process is a success.Knowledge, history,and truth,and ideas that require any deep thoughts in general are forbidden in their modern society,due to the possibility of disappointment or fear which would,as mentioned before,cause a disruption in the stable society.When people are content society naturally keeps a steady pace, which ultimately limits any disruptions as the world advances.
Embryos,before they’re even fully developed, are genetically engineered to be whoever they are chosen to be.To start off,oxygen deprivation on embryos was a cause for unintelligent and deformities. Within each class there was a certain physical stereotype for each,which was also carried out by lab workers.Masses of identical twins could be produced,meaning more workers,and the Director states “it’s a major instrument of social stability.” John’s repulsive attitude toward the matter somewhat expresses an idea of how an unconditioned person views it.A requirement in human health is the necessity of the adrenal glands to be occasionally stimulated;Violent Passion Surrogate comes in.The system is flooded with adrenin in order to induce the feelings of rage and fear.Soma was the World State’s method of population control;it was consumed in large portions, and too much of anything is detrimental,especially drugs.Constant overdose meant quicker deaths,which balanced the masses of children being produced.
The cost of a steady social order is worth plenty.While yes it is achievable, valuable aspects are sacrificed.Dignity no longer means anything,morals are twisted,values are meaningless,and emotions are non-existent.Humanity as a whole loses itself and Huxley’s piece,although fictional, is as equally possible.Authority may intend to do their job,but flaws still run through their character.For some,a problem free world is worth an array of underlying evils,and Brave New World is only one example.
