Dangers of a Totalitarian Society Exposed in Brave New World
On a one-dimensional level, Brave New World is the portrait of a perfect society. The citizens of this Utopia live in a society that is free of depression and most of the social-economic problems that trouble the world today. All aspects of life are controlled for the people of this society; population numbers, social class and intellectual ability. History is controlled and rewritten to suit the needs of the state. All of this is done in the name of social stability. When one looks beneath the surface of this perfect society it becomes evident that it is nothing of the sort. Eugenics, social conditioning, and anti-depressant drugs have solved many of the problems faced by many modern societies; poverty, class tension and overpopulation; but at the costs of individuality. The citizens of Brave New World are engineered to suit the needs of the state. Individual expression is unattainable because everyone is conditioned to think alike. Brave New World is a book about a future that seems more viable and less brave with each passing day as our values become more materialistic and as our faith in God dwindles slowly to be replaced by technology. In the futuristic society of the novel, God has been replaced by science and technology as a source substance and meaning in life. As a consequence the words “Christ” and “God” are replaced with “Ford”. This is done because Huxley believed that the shift in emphasis from God to technology occurred, to a large extent with Henry Ford’s introduction of the Model-T. Instead of using the Christian calendar this date is used as the opening date of a new era; the date is After Ford (A.F.) 632. This shift in importance is symbolized by substituting the Christian Cross with the Ford T. The motto of the New World State that now controls the world is; “Community, Stability, Identity.” This motto emphasizes the importance of the society over the individual. Community emphasizes the importance of the individual as a