Brave New World

By definition, a dystopian society is one that is characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease and overcrowding. At first glance, Aldous Huxleys novel A Brave New World would be considered anything but dystopian. However, if you dig deeper into the story, you will see the flaws, the oppression, and the disease. You will see the flaws in the caste system. You will see the oppression from both the uses of technology and consumerism. Lastly, you will see the disease from the need for soma. A distinct characteristic of a dystopian society is one with flaws. Mind you, every society has its flaws. Be it democracy, one-party, military, or a monarchy, the state is going to have flaws on how it is ran. In this World Society, the political system is that of communism in practice. This political system does have some characteristics of classical conservatism as well. Classical conservatism is a political ideology that believes people need to be controlled. It calls for the government to have a strong hold on what people do because people will not naturally want to help each other. It believes that all people are not born equal; it believes that some people are born to need more help than others. The caste system in A Brace New World is as follows: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon. Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon all undergo this treatment that separates them into ninety-six identical embryos, weakening them. The Alpha and Beta embryos never undergo this process. Thistreatment separates the embryos

both mentally and physically into separate castes; it makes these peoples lives harder (or easier) before they even take their first breath. This is severely flawed! Ill admit, classical conservatism did not believe in choosing who was upper class and who was lower class, but in the end we are not unequal. Not in the sense of how live and how we love. Who determines what is valued? What is success? What is a good life? No one can really define that. Each person has a different idea of happiness and this government forces people to accept what they are given. There is no pursuit of happiness. That leads to the next characteristic of a dystopian society: oppression. Some may see oppression in the way the government builds the caste system but the government also heavily influences technology and controls the people as consumers. Sadly, this is a very extreme version of our society today. We define our happiness by how much stuff we have. The World State capitalizes on this inner desire of humans. It pushes the idea that happiness is defined by the ability to satisfy needs and desires. How does that tie into technology? The World State has control over new and powerful technology. For example, the State uses the technology to separate and duplicate embryos at birth for the benefit of the society. The World State controls the uses of science and technology. It doesnt actually support it so much as it monitors it. The World State is fearful that new technology could be discovered and it could be used to overthrow the State. A critical piece of science that the World State uses to control its people is soma. Soma is the best example of the final characteristic of a dystopian society:

disease. When people experience any sort of emotional discomfort or stress, they take soma. It allows them to deal with inefficiency and conflict. Sound familiar? It reminds me of modern day cell phones. Dont we use them when life becomes inefficient? Wouldnt you rather call or text someone when you have a conflict with them, rather than talk to them face to face? Soma is their disease, their addiction, just like technology is ours. The character Mustapha describes soma as a way for people to feel moral. It clouds the truth so that people are in a haze and can rationalize their actions. From our perspective, soma is a tool used by the State to control the citizens. Soma merely satisfies the need for a little while. In the end, it leaves the citizens wanting more. When they want more, they are unsatisfied. When they are unsatisfied, they will inevitably go buy more stuff. It is a vicious cycle that will never end. So what does this tell us about our own culture? Are we in a dystopian society? Maybe we havent gotten to the extreme of splitting and duplicating embryos, but that doesnt mean we arent well on our way to other atrocities. This book has scary parallels to our own civilization. So what does that mean for us?