The term dystopia refers to a vision of an imaginary society or place where its current state is one of doom and despair. Brave New World reflects the ideals of such a state within its story and characters. Huxley points to the distant future where society is “civilized”, and there are no wars, no one suffers, and history is erased. Children are bred in a lab and then raised up to be whatever society expects them to be. A caste system is created where everyone knows his or her place in the world. They are required to fulfill their duty to the state and never question authority or their place in the world.
In the year 2011 A.D. those ideals
are not only here, whether disguised with different assuming names, but have
also ushered in other ideas that would make Huxley’s work pale in comparison.
The role of the United Nations, for example, seeks to end all wars as well as
eliminate world hunger and disease through the World Health Organization. But
upon closer inspection this organization was created to strip sovereign nations
of what little power or self rule they did have. It calls for total global
peace and security similar to the society in Brave New World. According to an article in Foreign Affairs, published by The Council on Foreign Relations,
written in 1991 by Bruce Russett and James Sutterlin it states; “The U.N. Charter gives the Security Council the
authority to maintain or restore international peace and security, and to
enforce the will of the council on a state that has broken the peace.” The
article goes on to say that, “The use of military force by the
United Nations for both of these purposes-enforcement and peacekeeping-is
surely essential to a world order in which international security is heavily
dependent on the Security Council.” War would be a means to end war as shown in
Huxley’s reference to a factitious nine year war in his novel. The ideals of
Eugenics, in essence the science of breeding the fittest and most desirable of
a race, was originated in Europe, test run by the Nazis in World War 2, and
fully implemented in America. Men like Winston Churchill supported the movement
which was termed Social Darwinism. In America women like Margaret Sanger
championed what is now known as planned parenthood as a way of eliminating the
inferior from society and keep population growth to zero. With the advances of
science a child can be designed with whatever color hair or eyes the parents
desire similar to the decanting process of Brave
New World. Genes can be manipulated to produce a superior specimen with
above normal IQ, the Alphas of our time. It is also important to note that the
State has complete power over people’s lives and families. The Department of
Child Welfare Services can remove any child out of any home and place them in a
state run foster home. (One may argue the admirable reasons of ‘protecting the
child’ but the power is there and abused more than applied for good). Once in
the system the child will be raised and educated however they see fit. In the
book, page 51, the controller speaks of ‘a campaign against the past’ in which
books are burned and what known as history is rewritten. The parallel to
today’s political correctness atmosphere can be easily seen as Hollywood and
the government is guilty of rewriting history in movies and textbooks to make
it more accepting and tolerable for everyone.
In terms of traditionalist views on
gender roles, today’s society is far from the norm. What was acceptable two
generations ago is no longer the case; specifically in respect to parental
roles. Reading the novel one will see that the titles of mother and father are
considered profane. Children are decanted thus making the female nurturing
motherly role obsolete as well as the masculinity of the father. By
today’s definition a family is no longer a man, woman and child. It can be
applied to various combinations of members. The Women’s Liberation movement
have succeeded in advancing the role of women to that of leaders and more
proactive than the male counterpart. A woman’s right to choose abortion is
encouraged in the story as the fictitious state provides and funds education,
and support in the matter similar to our current society. Sexual promiscuity is
practiced and repeated countless times within the plot. The mantra ‘everybody’
belongs to someone else’ serves as proof that traditional views of one man to
one woman are abandoned just as it is today. Since humans are created within a
test-tube then sex becomes a recreational activity and not used for
procreation. Woman are objectified and shared in the story, in real life some
women have adapted the same lifestyle particularly after what was known as the
free love and sexual revolution of the 1960’s.
Another
significant fact that parallels our society is the high drug use. Whether it is
state sponsored soma in Huxley’s
world or state approved Paxil, Zoloft, or Abilify, used to treat depression,
the outcome is the same. America has become a nation of self medicating
junkies. According to a quote from a web report from the Center for Disease
Control and Prevention in 2010 which states ‘over the last 10 years, the
percentage of Americans who took at least one prescription drug in the past
month increased from 44% to 48%. The use of two or more drugs increased from
25% to 31%. The use of five or more drugs increased from 6% to 11%.’ The report
also goes on to state ‘in the United States, spending for prescription drugs
was $234.1 billion in 2008, which was more than double what was spent in 1999.’
The similarities are shocking; whenever we as a society cannot deal with life’s
problems we turn to narcotics. (Not counting the psychologically and mentally
challenged because they would have been done away with in the future).
In a discussion with the savage, page 231, the
Controller told him “there used to be something called God – before the Nine
Years War.” Society today with the separation of church and state seeks, and
already has, taken God out of classrooms, school books, and any public places
creating a Godless society. He goes on to tell the savage that youth and vices
have replaced God and that the people are freer to indulge in whatever sordid
activity they choose without any repercussions and accountability. Huxley’s dystopian world equates God with self
denial, as shown on page 236. In our consumer driven, instant gratification
world it is considered the same as we want to feel good all the time, every
time. Perhaps the best quote that describes both our world and the imaginary
one is found on page 237, “But industrial civilization is only possible when
there’s no self denial. Self-indulgence up to the very limits imposed by
hygiene and economics, otherwise the wheels stop turning.”
Our
society’s economy, just like Huxley’s, needs to consume to grow. The mantra of
‘it is better to end than to mend’ is a realistic way of life if America is to
continue down the road that is before it. After reading Brave New World I became increasingly analytical of our society and
how it is strikingly similar to Huxley’s. It proves beyond a shadow of a doubt
that fact is stranger than fiction.
Huxley, Aldous. Brave
New World. New York: Harper Perennial, 1998. Pages 51, 231, 236-27.
Print.
Burt, Vicki L, and Dillon, Charles F, and Gu, Qiuping.
“Publications and Information Products,
NCHS Data Brief 42”. Center for Disease Control and
Prevention. United States Government, September 2010. Web. 12 December 2011.
Russett, Bruce and Sutterlin, James S. “The U.N in a
New World Order.” Foreign Affairs. The
