Brave New World Technology Analysis

The Negative Effects of Advanced Science & Technology in

Brave New World

The desire for a ’perfect’ society has led to total conformity and the misuse of drugs; resulting in complete totalitarianism. The advancement of science and technology negatively effects the characters of Brave New World through through the use of drugs and conditioning, which forces conformity onto the citizens of the world state. Over-depending on science and technology resulted in negative consequences for the people of Brave New World.

Relying on soma, a drug designed to clear the mind of thoughts and beliefs against the systems of the government, takes away natural human emotions that civilizations should experience. Instead of facing the realities of the world, the characters in the book take soma to forget about any emotional issues.” The world’s stable now. People are happy; they get what they want and never want what they can’t get. If anything goes wrong theres soma” (Huxley, 193). This quote stated by Mustapha Mond explains how citizens are trained to regularly medicate themselves with

soma if they experience thoughts or feelings that the totalitarian government of Brave New World does not allow such as, anger, love, sadness etc. Ultimately, this drug brainwashes people to believe that they are genuinely happy and agree with the way the world state is being operated. In addition, soma hides the harsh realities of the world. In the book, Huxley writes, “That second dose of soma had raised quite and impenetrable wall between the actual universe and their minds” (Huxley, 68). Instead of engaging in problem-solving situations, life lessons and conflicts that allow growth in a community, the characters in Brave New World choose to over-medicate. Consequently, they miss out on opportunities to learn and develop opinions. The government in Brave New World uses soma to ensure their almighty power. The characters are negatively effected by not having the opportunity to contribute toward the betterment of themselves and the world state.
In Brave New World, the controlling government conditions it’s people to behave and think in certain ways; striping their identity. This is done in order for the people to fit into a role in society and contribute to the economy. Conditioning eliminates diversity and personal identities of the people in the book. This is proven in the quote, “Till’ at last the child’s mind is these suggestions and the sum of these suggestions is the child’s mind but not only the child’s mind

but the adult mind too-all his life long” (Huxley, 23). There is no opportunity for these characters to develop their own sense of self. Everything they do is predetermined and forced throughout
their entire existence.

Also, the government is not using conditioning to benefit the people but to improve the world state’s economic development. “Major instruments of social stability! Standard men and women in uniform batches” (Huxley, 5).This quote stated by the director of the factory producing genetically modified babies, shows that instead of using science and technology to aid the citizens in daily life, leaders of this government condition people in order to create conformity. This places people into job positions that will benefit the economy. The idea of a cast system is another element of this society that degrades the citizens. The casts range from Alphas to Epsilons, all decreasing in intelligence but increasing in physicality to complete more manual labour. Therefore, this advanced process of conditioning, shown in the book, does not benefit the characters of Brave New

World.
The use of advanced science and technology eliminates uniqueness and the possibility for change in Brave New World. The characters suffer the consequences of conforming to a totalitarian government, such as not being able to have a personality and not being able to love and cry, along with many others. Luckily in North America and many other countries, there is an even balance of control and freedom. People can think and feel whatever they wish and could preform any action that expresses themselves, as long as it does not cause harm to themselves or others. This is a key factor for advancing in certain areas such as science and technology. If people are allowed to pursue their interests and aspirations it creates more ideas which can then be built upon to benefit others. An example of a successful achievement in science is genetically modified babies which was first revealed in 2001. This gives parents to be the choice of altering genes in an embryo in order to prevent possible genetic diseases. These types of inventions can positively contribute to the lives of many. Contrary to Brave New World, individuality is encouraged around the world, which allows growth and further development of a country and it’s people.