Brave New World

Summary

Brave New World is a novel set in a dystopian society, where people are replacable cogs in a machine–everyone is constantly bubbly, happy and social, because they take a drug called Soma. The society leans heavily into hedonistic consumerism but is ultimately controlled through genetic engineering, drugs and propaganda by a ruling elite called World Controllers. Individuality no longer exists, because it could upset the social order–becoming attached to one person over another is considered wrong.

Huxley explores themes of control, the loss of individuality, and the dangers of a society that prioritizes comfort and pleasure over freedom and genuine emotion. He also shows how scientific progress could lead to a world where it is possible to alter our brain states in ways that makes us superficially happy slaves and warns us of creating such a dystopia.

The plot of the book is set in a country called "The World State" that has control over the entire Earth. People who live there don't reproduce naturally anymore, instead they are bred into a hierarchical caste groups, Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons, each fulfilling a different type of role within society. Kids are conditioned by the state, using sleep hypnosis, to value consumerism, instant gratification, and promiscuity, as these support the goals of the state.

And the people accept their roles without question. Everybody still has free will and can chose to do otherwise, but nobody wants to. Their lives feel good, and when they are confronted with a different way of living or a problem, they just shrug their shoulders and take some more Soma to feel happy and good again.

The main plot of the book is about introducing an outside element: a person called "the Savage" into the society of the World State. The Savage grew up outside, born by a real mother and was raised by reading Shakespeare. He still has his own ideas, things that he wants to do and people whom he loves and cares for. He serves as an important contrast, showing how weird the World State truly is.

Overall the world of the novel feels very dystopian, even while everybody is constantly happy. The problem is that the happiness of the people is a mindless, shallow, sort of happiness. Eudaimonia is missing from their lives. They live without a purpose. Without awe, without ever having to put anything on the line, where nothing, ultimately matters and existence is a happy sort of grey.

The World State has sacrificed art, religion, and personal freedom in exchange for a society free from suffering, conflict, and disorder. It is the perfect society–without wrinkles, without anything interesting going on. Citizens never have to handle conflict or hardship, but they also lack creativity, curiosity, and personal fulfillment. But worst of all, they don't care. It reminds me of the matrix and most people chosing to stay embedded in it. In this sense, Aldous Huxley's book also critiques our current society, where we pursue goals, ultimately often for hedonistic reasons, instead of anything else. We do things because they are easy, expedient, seeking shallow pleasures over more meaningful activities, because advertisements brainwash us into believing that this is the way to live.