There are few works in literature, let
alone science fiction, that can match the power of the statement Aldous Huxley
makes about humanity and its future in his landmark Brave New World. Required
reading in schools across the US, Huxley plausibly creates a bright, wonderful
future society, then destroys it in one massive proverbial blow. Published in 1932, the book’s reaction to
American economic and cultural practice has been largely justified by the
ongoing homogenization of world culture, making it one of the most relevant
works created to date on the subject of globalization, cultural evolution, and the future of
technology’s role in society.
Brave
New World,
particularly the outset, is largely an exercise in world building. Wholly a futuristic vision, society is
organized along much different, though credible lines. Childbirth now possible only for a chosen
few, babies are grown in vats and intelligence decanted to Alpha, Beta, Cappa,
Delta and Epsilon levels. Epsilons
performing the manual labor and Alphas the brain work, society is striated to
the maximum. Everyone, however, is able
to enjoy sensuality (recreational sex and “feely” movies), socio-religious
experiences, drug induced happiness (soma),
and materialist consumption in keeping with the Word State’s Commerce
Economy. A utopia, Huxley's plot sets about
dismantling the vision one ideological brick at a time.
