"'The world's stable now. People are happy; they get what they want, and they never want what they can't get. They're well off; they're safe; they're never ill; they're not afraid of death; they're blissfully ignorant of passion and old age; they're plagued with no mothers or fathers; they've got no wives, or children, or lovers to feel strongly about; they're so conditioned that they practically can't help behaving as they ought to behave. And if anything should go wrong, they're soma.'" (Brave New World, page 220)
I'm beginning to wonder if Aldous Huxley purposefully made this book to show what an extreme version of our world would be like. The Controller, Mustapha Mond, stated how their society is a society based on consumerism. The society is full of citizens who want new things, thus old things are done away with. Working to create "social stability" is the sole purpose and in doing so, "happiness" is created. However, this happiness isn't the happiness that we all know of. "Happiness" is the instant gratification of whatever they can find that is new to them. Whatever makes the people feel good is what will make them happy. (Hello Hedonistic Society- my blog #3!!!)
Although our society isn't as extreme, we are very consumer driven. If something can satisfy our desires, it is automatically more attractive. Having more and consuming more makes people happy. Our world is so focused on producing materials and consuming materials. In fact, it is the basis of our economy. Supply and demand. If they supply it, we want it. It may be that the author didn't mean to compare the New World society with the society we live in today. Regardless, I think it is very true. The selfish and pleasuring society presented in the book and our daily lives is evident. It is almost scary to think of all of the awful things that could come of a society based on the wrong ideals...
No comments:
Post a Comment