Dangers of a Totalitarian Society Exposed in Brave New World

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Dangers of a Totalitarian Society Exposed in Brave New World

On a superficial level Brave New World is the portrait of a perfect society. The

citizens of this Utopia live in a society that is free of depression and most of

the social-economic problems that trouble the world today. All aspects of life

are controlled for the people of this society: population numbers, social class,

and intellectual ability. History is controlled and rewritten to suit the needs of

the state. All this is done in the name of social stability. When one looks

beneath the surface of this "perfect' society it becomes evident that it is

nothing of the sort. Eugenics, social conditioning, and anti-depressant drugs

have solved many of the problems faced by many modern societies; poverty,

class tensions and overpopulation; but at the costs of individuality and with

that their humanity. The citizens of "brave new world" are engineered to suite

the needs of the state. Individual expression is impossible because everyone

is conditioned to think alike. Brave New World is a book about a future that

seems more viable and less brave with each passing day as our values

become more materialistic and as our faith in God dwindles slowly to be

replaced by technology. Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World to increase our

awareness of this frightening future we seem to be progressing towards so we

can prevent it from happening. In the futuristic society of the novel, God has

been replaced by science and technology as a source substance and

meaning in life. As a consequence the words "Christ" and "God" are replaced

with "Ford." This is done because Huxley believed that the shift in emphasis

from God to technology occurred, to a large extent, with Henry Ford's

introduction of the Model-T.1 Instead of using the Christian calendar this date

is used as the opening date of a new era; the date is After Ford (A.F.) 632.

This shift in importance is symbolized by substituting the Christian Cross with

the Ford T.2 The motto of the new World State that now controls the world is

"Community, Stability, Identity." This motto emphasizes the importance of the

society over the individual. Community emphasizes the importance of the

individual as a contributor to society.

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