A dystopian society is a description of a community that is unpleasant and dehumanizing in all extents (Baccolini and Moylan 13). In the novel, "Brave New Worlds" by Aldous Huxley, there lacks aspects of a dystopian society since the book itself, showcases a utopian society, which is a perfect society. The society is stable, has an identity, and upholds a happy community (Parrinder 18). This essay focuses on arguing that the World States in the “Brave New Worlds” do not reflect the characteristics of a dystopian society based on the points that;
- The economy is capitalist, and there is no collectivism
- Stability is an essential aspect of society
- The foundation of stability is the happiness of the people
The economy in the Brave New Worlds is capitalist, and there is no collectivism. In the "Brave New World" society, there is only private property, and the essential basis of the economy is consumption. The community lacks utmost uniformity since the individuals are divided into five distinct classes of alphas, who are the most privileged and intelligent, Epsilons, which is a class that has the privilege of being destined to do physical work where people do not need human intelligence, as seen when Mr. Foster says to the children, "but in Epsilons, we don’t need human intelligence” (Huxley 12). The world states motto, which contains the word, identity, is showcased in the way, within those classes, people are similar and identical, from clothing that is worn in one particular color for each category, to the physical aspects like the size that expresses the social status of a person. In the World States, people are uniform from the way they look, to the way they think, and education is considered to be essential in the society. One of the primary instruments of social stability is conditioning where people are conditioned to be like their "inescapable social identity" (Huxley 7). Individuals are delighted in their duties and content. The society is kept stable through education, and no one attempts to revolt against the state or even complain.
Stability is an essential aspect of the society through the speech made by Mustapha in front of the students, where he clearly outlines that, “stability is the most urgent societal basis” (Huxley 31). The regulations provided in the world states are not just tolerated by the inhabitants, but also regarded as the essential values. The belief of stability has ensured that individuals in the World States view the ideals of the state as their own. A person is sent to an island if they try to revolt or refuses to respond to conditioning; hence, there is no opposition or rather, it is suppressed and therefore corresponds to the aspects of a utopian society. Stability in the World states is maintained through many regulations, with one instance of a moral ideal being the idea of a monogamous relationship, that emphasizes that a person’s emotions cannot be too strong, as illustrated in the proverb, “everyone belongs to everyone else” (Huxley 31). An individual’s feeling is controlled to maintain their stability that is relevant for societal stability, seen in the text, "when the individuals feel, the community reels” (Huxley 38). Games in the society that do not need enough equipment are regulated to regulate consumption for economic stability. Children are taught that “ending is better than mending” (Huxley 35). The regulations presented make all individuals a part of the greater society so that the World State is described as the Brave World.
The foundation of stability in the World states lies in the happiness of the people. The satisfaction of individuals in these states is attained through conditioning, which guarantees that all people should be satisfied with the life they live without complaining. For instance, the controller says to John, "the savage people are happy, they get what they want and never want what they cannot get” (Huxley7). Children in the world states have been conditioned to be content with their social status and to be happy in the work they are chosen to do. A person who does not feel okay is induced with soma, to forget their grief and be happy again. The controllers try their best to satisfy the vices and impulses of the people and have arranged "no strain of the mind or the muscles, seven hours of mild and unexhausting labor and some soma ration and games and unrestricted copulation and feelies” (Huxley 153). Also, how the society has been structured is a significant contribution to the absolute satisfaction, since there are a lot of distractions like the electro-magnetic golf and the feelies, that fulfill distinct desires so that there lacks any amount of dissatisfaction (Izzo, Garrett, and Kirkpatrick 14). In the text, the controller tells John that, “people are ignorant of passion and old age, and cannot help but behave as they ought to behave” (Huxley 29). In the society of the "Brave New Word," rather than freedom being considered as a necessity for happiness, it has been contained that an individual can only be happy through contentment with the environment which they adapt in.
Conclusion
The society that has been illustrated in the ‘Brave New World” has the aspects of a utopian society that are depicted positively rather than those of a Dystopian world. In the World States, everyone lives in harmony, each individual has a job, and this means that there is no crime and poverty, ad no wars. These aspects, that lack in a dystopian world, make the society of the “Brave New World” a perfect world utopian. The masses in the World States have been born to and bred not to know, and they are thrilled in their conditions of living.
