Warnings from Huxley
History often repeats itself. Many of the world’s problems today could be solved by studying the decisions of leaders in the past. There have been countless warnings and guidelines from our ancestors, founding fathers, and famous authors about the way government should be run to create a happier world. Aldous Huxley was one of these famous authors that put his views on government and science into literary form in order to share his ideas using satire fiction. Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World eerily warns us of the dangers of large corporations and government control by including themes such as Henry Ford’s mass production, the caste system, conditioning and conditioning citizens’ behavior in his story.
In the novel, it is unheard of for people to reproduce viviparously. Instead, the population grows by the Bokanovsky’s Process. Human embryo’s are divided again and again, up to 96 time to create identical twins. This process takes place in the Hatchery Centre.
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The Director of the Hatchery Centre, (the D.H.C.), explains to his students, “...by which time the original egg was in a fair way to becoming anything from eight to ninety-six embryos – a prodigious improvement, you will agree, on nature. Identical twins – but not in piddling twos and threes as in the old viviparous days, when an egg would sometimes accidentally divide; actually by dozens, by scores at a time,” (Huxley 7). The D.H.C and the controller of western Europe, Mustapha Mond, see this scientific advancement as a process that is beneficial in creating a society that is efficient in their work and free of stress. Although no humans have been successfully cloned in real life, (to public knowledge), it is presumed that scientists would be close to success if they weren’t prohibited from doing such ‘unethical’ experiments. In regards to bioethics, the President's Council proposes that, “Proponents of cloning tend to see procreation primarily as the free exercise of a parental right, namely, a right to satisfy parental desires for self-fulfillment or a right to have a child who is healthy or ‘superior’...The principles guiding such prospective parents are freedom (for themselves), control (over their child), and well-being (both for themselves and what they imagine is best for their child),” (The President's Council). Parents would be able to clone children in order to achieve specific physical traits, supposed superior personality traits, and good health. However, such efforts with seemingly good intentions are considered unethical because it promotes the idea that humans with characteristics that are undesirable should just be disposed of and re-created, as The President’s council also suggests, “In practice, they may prove to undermine the very goods that the proponents of cloning aim to serve, by undermining the unconditional acceptance of one's offspring that is so central to parenthood,” (The Presidents Council). This is also a common idea in Brave New World, as people are produced to have certain traits, and parents are a taboo idea of the past. Another negative outcome that Huxley presents is the possible mistakes with heavy consequences that can result from one person being in charge of a mass of embryos. He touches on this possibility with this circumstance of Lenina working in the hatchery: “’My Ford,’ she wondered, ‘have I given this one its sleeping sickness injection, or haven’t I?’ She simply couldn’t remember. In the end, she decided not to run the risk of letting it have a second dose, and moved down the line to the next bottle. Twenty-two years, eight months, and four days from that moment, a promising young Alpha-Minus administrator at Mwanza-Mwanza was to die of trypanosomiasis – the first case for over half a century. Sighing, Lenina went on with her work,” (Huxley 187). This brings up the problem of ethics over whether it is right for one person’s life to be determined by circumstances created by a hatchery worker before the embryo is fully developed, and the dangers that can occur from such a responsibility. Another danger Huxley warns against is the control of government and corporations on the class system. In the book, this occurs by the leaders in the Alpha caste determining who is worthy of being a role model in the higher castes. The D.H.C. has a conversation with Bernard about his habits: “’And I should like to take this opportunity, Mr. Marx, ‘ he went on, ‘of saying that I’m not at all pleased with the reports I receive of your behavior outside working hours. You may say that this is not my business. But it is. I have the good name of the Centre to think of. My workers must be above suspicion, particularly those of the highest castes…’” (Huxley 98). In this way, the D.H.C. is taking away the freedoms of the members of the Alpha caste, insisting that they be held to a certain standard and conduct themselves accordingly. This issue is present in America as well. Professor G. William Domhoff from University of California at Santa Cruz agrees by stating, “Members of the upper class, with the help of their high-level employees in profit and nonprofit institutions, are able to dominate the federal government in Washington,” (Domhoff). It is not news that the upper class buys out the speeches of the politicians in Washington. In this way, the richer people are, the easier it is for them to have government run they way they see fit. The government and upper class also have the power to influence the public’s opinions about ethics and morals by controlling the actions and public opinions of famous individuals.
It is very important for the government to be supported by its people, so, naturally, the government must try its best to keep radical ideas away from the public’s common knowledge if the government wants to keep running how it likes. In Brave New World, Huxley describes an instance where the D.H.C. is doing just that by trying to demote Bernard Marx to Iceland, where his unorthodox opinions will not be heard by the people of the U.K. The D.H.C. says, “The greater a man’s talents, the greater his power to lead astray. It is better that one should suffer than that many be corrupted,” (Huxley 148). In saying this, he means that it would be better for the one with unfavorable habits, (Bernard), to be sent away than for other people to start agreeing with his opinions and becoming
‘corrupted.’ The idea of conditioning in the novel closely reflects the results of social media on today’s society. In the novel, children are conditioned by a process called hypnopædea, in which a recording of specially chosen ideas about government are repeated to them in their sleep. For example, one recording states, “’But old clothes are beastly...we always throw away old clothes. Ending is better than mending, ending is better than mending, ending is better…’” (Huxley 49). This closely resembles America’s capitalist society, where ads in social media encourage viewers that it’s ‘uncool’ to have old clothes, and better to keep consuming new items. While Huxley’s reason for warning against capitalism is uncertain, what is certain is that capitalism has a negative effect on the environment. Capitalist habits are not any way to sustain life on earth. As Tony Juniper says in his article for TheGuardian, “The fact that the now dominant capitalist economic system is unsustainable is not in doubt... (it is) damaging the natural systems that sustain it,” (Juniper). It is also evident in the book that the effects of conditioning have led to ideas of racism, the same way that Juniper argues that in the real world, “...capitalism is also leading to increasing inequality, in turn creating social tensions that make it still more exposed,” (Juniper.) I the novel, when Bernard and Lenina fly to the ‘savage reservation,’ the pilot shows clear signs of groundless racist ideas due to his conditioning while talking about the ‘savages:’ “’Funny, I expect.’ He grinned. ‘Everything they do is funny.’ And with that he climbed into the plane and started up the engines. ‘Back to-morrow. And remember.’ He added reassuringly to Lenina, ‘they’re perfectly tame; savages won’t do you any harm. They’ve got enough experience of gas bombs to know that they mustn’t play any tricks,’” (Huxley 104). In the same way the conditioning brainwashes individuals to call other societies ‘savages,’ capitalism and social media lead to unjust racist beliefs that our world would be better off without. Despite numerous warnings like these from many philosophers, authors, and leaders from the past, some people think advancements in science, technology, and production are good for society, when really they only benefit certain areas of government and corporations. In reality, advancing in the idea of capitalism, science, and individuality can really have harmful effects on our freedom and on our planet. Some people interpret the book to be an alysis of Huxley’s own time, rather than a prediction of the future, but according to Ted Gioia, “When Huxley re-evaluated the subject in his Brave New World Revisited in 1958, he determined that his vision of the future was not only correct, but that events were moving toward it faster than he had anticipated,” (Gioia). In this case, some people may argue that Huxley’s novel was just a prediction of the future, rather than a warning against it, however examples from the characters in the book clearly show that this is no happy world to live in. There are some positive aspects to all of this kind of change, but it only leaves our future generations with bigger issues to solve. Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World depicts a story with a clear warning against corporation and government control. By including themes such as Henry Ford’s mass production, the caste system, and conditioning citizens’ behavior, Huxley outlines the worries that our society will most likely face in the future. Upon analyzing the book, much evidence supports that his dystopia disguised as a utopia is direct criticism of growing advancements, and his clear opinion on what kind of unhappiness will come about if humans really adapt a ‘Brave New World.’ Studying historical patterns and warnings from philosophers, leaders, etc. like this can prevent problems from arising.
To conclude, Postman's analysis that Huxley's vision of the future has become more of a reality than that of Orwell's. Although the present day is not exactly how Huxley had envisioned it, our society will soon reflect the one created in Brave New World if it continues to progress as it had in the past few decades. Orwell's prediction does not hold much relevance in today's society. Our government is not constantly watching over us, they have more important difficulties to overcome. Government is not concerned with the actions of individuals; they base their decisions on the opinions of the masses. Huxley's travesty holds far more relevance than the prestigious social theory of Orwell.
According to Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death, Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World both predicted that society would eventually be governed by a global totalitarian system; however, the key difference between both their predictions is the method by which society’s cognizance would be undermined. Orwell claimed that contemporary society would be controlled by overt modes of policing and supervising the social hierarchy, whereas Huxley stated that society’s infatuation with entertainment and superficial pleasure alone would be enough for the government to have absolute control over the public. Unfortunately, today’s society is not an Animal Farm. All jokes aside, Postman’s assertion of Huxley’s theory, “what
“Science and technology provide the means for controlling the lives of citizens” (Brave). This quote describes a major and ever-growing problem in the basic, daily lives of society now, and has been since the mid-twentieth century. With technology, medicine, and general knowledge evolving so rapidly it is hard to find a constant code by which governments can carry out their purpose of regulating societies. In some cases, organization is taken to an extreme level that chokes out creativity and individuality while replacing it with codes and stern punishments(Huxley). On the other end of the spectrum, liberalism can flourish in an atmosphere of prosperity and freedom, but not for very long(Huxley). The debate on which type of governing serves everyone best has been raging since mankind first walked the Earth. Aldous Huxley examines the concept of an over-controlling government and the limitations on freedom that are necessary to a working society by creating and then elaborating on a fictional society controlled by ten rulers.
In his novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley illustrates ways in which government and advanced science control society. Through actual visualization of this Utopian society, the reader is able to see how this state affects Huxley’s characters. Throughout the book, the author deals with many different aspects of control. Whether it is of his subjects’ feelings and emotions or of the society’s restraint of population growth, Huxley depicts government’s and science’s role in the brave new world of tomorrow.
A dystopia- “an imaginary place or state in which the condition of life is extremely bad, as from deprivation, oppression, or terror” (Dystopia). Aldous Huxley demonstrates just that in his book Brave New World. In Brave New World Huxley creates a perfectly stable society through using clones. This society achieved this stability through the administering and conditioning of the brain. Huxley an extreme humanist feared this future society because of the work of other extremist with theories that could not be proven (Chunk) Sigmund Freud known as he father of psychoanalysis, was a physiologist, medical doctor, and influential thinker of the early twentieth century” (Thornton), he came up with many strange ideas about the human brain that many psychologist struggled to come to acceptance with, but these theories made him an acclaimed psychologist. His ideas could not be scientifically proven by any means, but that did not matter to the public. They exalted Freud and everything he stood for. Huxley saw how Freud’s discoveries left everybody in apprehension, and that intimidated him, Huxley saw how effortlessly people could be manipulated by one person who had no tangible scientific evidence to back his philosphy up. The gullibility of Huxley’s society not only scared him, but it petrified him. In Brave New World Huxley uses an innumerous amount of Freud’s concepts to show America the consequences of being so easily deceived. In the book Huxley used Ford as a god like figure they would say “our Ford” in place of saying “our Lord” but at times Huxley would perspicaciously change Ford’s name to Freud thus saying “our Freud.” This minor component often ends up getting discounted by the reader because Freud’s name never explicitly gets m...
There were quite a few changes made from Aldous Huxley’s, Brave New World to turn it into a “made for TV” movie. The first major change most people noticed was Bernard Marx’s attitude. In the book he was very shy and timid toward the opposite sex, he was also very cynical about their utopian lifestyle. In the movie Bernard was a regular Casanova. He had no shyness towards anyone. A second major deviation the movie made form the book was when Bernard exposed the existing director of Hatcheries and Conditioning, Bernard himself was moved up to this position. In the book the author doesn’t even mention who takes over the position. The biggest change between the two was Lenina, Bernard’s girlfriend becomes pregnant and has the baby. The screenwriters must have made this up because the author doesn’t even mention it. The differences between the book and the movie both helped it and hurt it.
In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley deftly creates a society that is indeed quite stable. Although they are being mentally manipulated, the members of this world are content with their lives, and the presence of serious conflict is minimal, if not nonexistent. For the most part, the members of this society have complete respect and trust in their superiors, and those who don’t are dealt with in a peaceful manner as to keep both society and the heretic happy. Maintained by cultural values, mental conditioning, and segregation, the idea of social stability as demonstrated in Brave New World is, in my opinion, both insightful and intriguing.
David Grayson once said that "Commandment Number One of any truly civilized society is this: Let people be different". Difference, or individuality, however, may not be possible under a dictatorial government. Aldous Huxley's satirical novel Brave New World shows that a government-controlled society often places restraints upon its citizens, which results in a loss of social and mental freedom. These methods of limiting human behavior are carried out by the conditioning of the citizens, the categorical division of society, and the censorship of art and religion.
Brave New World is an unsettling, loveless and even sinister place. This is because Huxley endows his "ideal" society with features calculated to alienate his audience. Typically, reading Brave New World elicits the very same disturbing feelings in the reader which the society it depicts has notionally vanquished - not a sense of joyful anticipation. Huxley's novel presents a startling view of the future which on the surface appears almost comical. His intent, however, is not humor. Huxley's message is dark and depressing. His idea that in centuries to come, a one-world government will rise to power, stripping people's freedom, is not a new idea. What makes Huxley's interpretation different is the fact that his fictional society not only lives in a totalitarian government, but takes an embracive approach like mindless robots. For example, Soma, not nuclear bombs, is the weapon of choice for the World Controllers in Brave New World. The world leaders have realized that fear and intimidation have only limited power; these tactics simply build up resentment in the minds of the oppressed. Subconscious persuasion and mind-altering drugs, on the other hand, appear to have no side effects.
One of the biggest changes occurring in Brave New World was that babies were not being born to parents, but rather being grown in test tubes. These test tube embryos were altered to produce thousands of babies using only one embryo. Our society practices similar procedures. We were first able to grow babies in test tubes, helping people who could not get pregnant. Our next development as a society allowed the ability to clone an embryo and have many where one stood.
Fetuses destined to work in the tropical climate are heat conditioned as embryos” (Sparknotes Editors). When producing humans, the factory uses a cloning process and according to the director, the clones produce stability within the society because the fetuses are predestined to perform identical tasks (Huxley 5).... ... middle of paper ... ...
This dream of forming and maintaining a utopian society was immortalized in two novels dealing with the same basic ideas, 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Both of these novels deal with the lives of main characters that inadvertently become subversives in a totalitarian government. These two books differ greatly however with the manner in which the government controls the population and the strictness of the measures taken to maintain this stability. This essay with compare and contrast the message and tone of each novel as well as consider whether the utopia is a positive or negative one.
During the past few weeks my class and I have been reading your book, “ Brave New World”. While reading your book I have discovered a few captivating issues. These issues include the destruction of the family, the use of drugs, and polygamy (obligatory sex). These issues are interesting because of their implications in life today, and the frequent times they are shown in the book. The ways they are used to control people and make their life easier, and the fact that our world seems to be falling into the same state.
In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, the author depicts a collective society in which everyone has the same values and beliefs. From a young age, the people in the World State’s civilization are conditioned to believe in their motto of “Community, Identity, Stability.” Through hypnopaedia, the citizens of the World State learn their morals, values, and beliefs, which stay with them as they age. However, like any society, there are outsiders who alienate themselves from the rest of the population because they have different values and beliefs. Unfortunately, being an outsider in the World State is not ideal, and therefore there are consequences as a result. One such outsider is John. Brought from the Savage Reservation, John is lead to conform to the beliefs of the World State, thus losing his individuality, which ultimately leads him to commit suicide. Through John and the World State populace as an example, Huxley uses his novel to emphasize his disapproval of conformity over individuality.
Some embryos are even deprived of oxygen in order to make the person less intelligent, much like a soggy piece of pizza. Another use of technology in the novel is cloning. Leaders strive to make everyone as similar as possible and cloning is one way of doing this. They achieve this feat by splitting an egg as many times as possible. This group of identical twins is called the Bokanovsky Group.