Brave New World

Aldous Huxley's book "Brave New World" is an obvious critique of our wold. How at the rate we are moving, our innovations and technologies will overtake us and, in the end, control our lives completely. However, when I am asked "what is wrong with the society in "Brave New World"?" I find it difficult to answer. Their world is set up so that everyone is happy all the time. They got rid of all pain, old age, disease, and they use soma to get ride of depression or confused feelings. Obviously, we can see that we would no like to live in this type of society, because we can see its flaws. We can see that epsilons have awful, backbreaking lives and very few people can even think for themselves. We can see that they have eliminated all free thought and purpose to life. When we look at the England of "Brave New World" we see a people without a purpose. A world that is built upon the sole function of simply existing. No New innovation, no forward mobility. However, what would a person reading a book about our world see? I think they would see a world hurtling towards its ultomate destruction. Whether its nuclear war or some kind of disease our world seems to be on an inevatable path to its doom. So what would you choose, a world that exists for the sake of existing, or no world at all?

Economy of Brave New World

The social structure of "Brave New World" implies that there is no need for an economy. In a world where there is no forward mobility and each person each person is not working towards a goal, I do not see the need for an economy. Economics are driven by Greed and selfishness but in "Brave New World" people spend money because they are conditioned to. It seems in the book as if the market needs constant stimulation but I do not understand why. In a world where an epsilon can be programmed to do any kind of menial labor, why pay them? Where is all of this money that goes into stimulating the economy of a stagnant social order going? I feel as if the only place all of this money could be going is into a dumpster somewhere. When there is money, there is the implication that people want to improve their lives in some way. However, the vast majority of the population cannot think further than "hungry" or "tired." The only people who might feel the desire to buy something new is an Alpha, and even then, they need very little after all of their conditioning. They are conditioned to constantly buy new things, and in a way, so are we, by the media and our society. But when we buy something, our money is going to another person who will then use it to buy something they need. Our money flows through people due to our greed. In "Brave New World" I simply do not understand how capitalism can work or why they need it in the first place.

V for Vendetta and freedom

If you want to discuss "freedom" in "V for Vendetta" or "Brave New World" first you have to decide what kind of freedom you want to talk about. I see two types of freedom in play in these societies. First there is a mental freedom, and then there is also a literal kind of freedom. In "Brave New World" people do not posses the mental freedom to think outside of each ones own metaphorical box. There is no need for a policing system or laws when no one has the will to do anything new or different; when they are mentally constrained. But in V for Vendetta people do have the mental ability to understand that there is something wrong with their world. However their lives are physically limited with constraining laws and curfews. This is why V could help them. If you are being retrained by chains, you can be cut out or released, but if you are restraining yourself then how can you be saved? This is what makes the question of who is more free so difficult and this is why I believe that the people in "V for Vendetta" are more free. They can be delivered from their evil captors by a savior, and once everyone has been saved, everyone can be completely free. Free of heir fears of the government, disease, or anything that confined them. They could be free to institute any kind of government they want. If V went into the England of "Brave New World" and blew up parliament, and made his speech, people would not understand what he was trying to say. One might say that they are already free because they can do whatever they want, they simply never want to do anything other than what they are programmed to do. But is this freedom? No, being mentally free to think what you want is just as important as being physically free.