Our Brave New World

In 1932, the novel Brave New World was published, one of the top 100 most important works of the 20^th century based on the criteria of experts who put together literary rating lists. It belongs to the dystopian genre, which deals with the future, usually presented negatively; marked by totalitarian regimes, social decline, and other unfavourable conditions.   

The English writer Aldous Huxley creatively critiqued different aspects of the society of the future: mass production; strong government control of the population; the loss of individualism and humanity within a highly technological society; conformism; consumerism; and the constant pursuit of pleasure at the cost of deeper interpersonal relationships. In his brave world, pregnancy is seen as primitive, and new generations are created by controlled reproduction: in machines, with various levels of intelligence, so that society can have the perfect proportion of Alpha geniuses and Epsilon dimwits who, from a young age, are programed to not love books and nature, and automatically execute the simplest tasks and jobs without having to think. The basic goal of every individual is pleasure, for which reason they are very promiscuous and at even the slightest sign of displeasure, they take soma, a psychedelic drug that takes them out of reality.

Whether it was a coincidence or whether he was a visionary, Huxley was very good at pointing out the dangers of a society that lives for hedonism and superficial happiness. Just like in his dystopian novel, almost a century later, we face anxiety and the problems of today's world, with uncontrolled technological accomplishments and their ethical implications; increasingly strict governmental surveillance and the erosion of privacy; the sacrifice of personal freedoms in the name of social stability; the secretive phrases of the New World Order; and the invisible algorithms and lead us to it. This is our brave new world.

Half a century before the visionary Huxley, the German philosopher Karl Marx theorized about how capitalism will inevitably distance humans, both from the fruits of their labour and from their interpersonal relationships, since they work at jobs whose products do not belong to them nor their communities, but rather to the capitalists. Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Tesla, Meta, Alphabet Inc. (Google), are names that require no additional explanation. Around 735 American capitalists own more wealth than half of all American households (a datum from 2022, based on a US population of 333.3 million). During the COVID pandemic which financially devastated many, the wealth of the wealthiest increased by 70%.

In the process of mass production, the modern-day worker has no connection with the product that so often does not meet his/her needs, interests or identity. The alienation of human relations is inevitable, since profit comes before everything else, and competition leads to the dissolution of solidarity and empathy among people. The most concerning element on the list of Marx's alienation is the loss of our own beings, when instead of developing ourselves as a whole human being, we become a tool for making the rich even richer.  

Tired and exploited, regardless of education level— whether we work on the assembly line or we are the head of marketing for a large company— we are bombarded with trends that promise us a medal in the race towards pleasure and happiness, and so many of us become submissive consumers. Like hamsters on their wheels, we work, we spend, we work, we spend… We hoard things we need and do not need; all these things produced by some other disaffected worker. We buy in shopping malls, on the Internet, in specialty stores; we buy cars, then bigger ones; a three-bedroom house, then another with one more bedroom, while our debts keep rising and transform human beings into the property of the banks that gave them the credit and mortgage—along with an interest rate, of course.

Speaking of numbers, 31.2 million Canadians use a credit card, and its average monthly balance comes to $4,000. At the end of the month, 43% of consumers do not have enough money to pay off the full balance, so the average consumer debt adds up to—give or take— $21,000 dollars. And it is growing constantly.

The alienation in our brave new world is evident on every corner: at the bus stop, in the dentist's waiting room, in museums, restaurants, cars, school, office, and even on dates. Our eyes and fingers are on our cell phones, in the virtual world directed by algorithms that trick us into believing we are the rulers of our fates while they very deliberately eliminate the need for critical thinking.

The controlled reproduction from Huxley's tale seems like science fiction until we learn about the concept of EctoLife, behind which stands the handsome Hashem Al-Ghaili, a molecular biologist, scientist, and film producer. His idea—which he claims will be carried out in around ten years if it is approved on a governmental level—is that it will be possible for parents to buy babies from surrogate wombs. The elite package—for those lucky wealthy few—would allow for the choice in the baby's intelligence and physical appearance, even its hair colour, eyes, and skin. It is no secret that scientists around the world invest great efforts in creating artificial wombs that would save the lives of premature babies. Whatever humans think up is created sooner or later; we have already seen that happen. It is only a question of time before mothers like Kim Kardashian, who rent other wombs for their pregnancies, will be able to sit down with an extra-foam latte and a catalogue to choose between the talents of singing or painting for their babies… or both (why not?) if they can afford such a child.

In the ideal society presented in Brave New World, everyone is beautiful and sexually desirable, since their biological aging is slowed down; 60-year-olds look like 20-year-olds, and they look like that until they die. In our world, which is more vain than brave, 20-year-olds are bombarded with anti-wrinkle and under-eye creams, and various machines, treatments and lasers— expensive fights against the dates on their birth certificates. The culture of obsession with beauty and youth is indisputable, highlighted by the media and social media with representations of idealized standards (achieved by surgery, filters, and digital manipulation) which creates huge pressure on individuals to adapt unrealistic physical ideals. Why does our society put such an exaggerated emphasis on outer appearance—is it a purposeful distraction from other human pursuits and personal development? Why does social media promote a culture of comparison and validation based on likes and followers? The commodification of beauty and youth has huge economic implications: it runs the cosmetics industry, fashion, and cosmetic surgery, and maintains the profit-led cycle of consumerism, with no regard for those who suffer from low self-esteem or even mental health issues.

Huxley's protagonists are conditioned to prioritize pleasure, personal happiness, and conformism to social norms, and in order to be turned away from deeper introspection and critical thinking, they are addicted to the drug soma, which provokes euphoria and diminishes negative emotions. The writer could not have even imagined how easily humanity could become addicted to various kinds of drugs; from marihuana in the form of drops and gummies, to iPhones, Instagram, videogames, televisions, shopping, trends… Anything that distracts us from reality and helps avoid deeper existential questions and personal challenges.

More than 20% of Canadians fall within the definition of substance addicts, whether illegal street drugs or doctor-prescribed medicine. The Liberal government of Canada did everything it could to legalize marijuana, and the province of British Columbia has even decriminalized possession of hard drugs up to 2.5 grams. In terms of other forms of entertainment such as gambling and online pornography, the moment it begins to have a negative effect on individuals (isolation, loss of control and de-sensitivity, health and financial problems, feelings of guilt) means that it has become an addiction. Such patients are so numerous that they have not even been counted by any statistic.

“Everyone belongs to everyone”— the slogan of sexual freedom in the novel. The slogan of the online agency Ashley Madison, launched in 2002 and aimed at connecting married couples for sexual relationships is, “Life is short. Have an affair.” For many, monogamy means monotony, so the agency gained 80 million members in a short time span. Their database was breached by a group of hackers in 2015 that threatened to publish its user list— including the users’ credit card information, home addresses, and sexual fantasies— if the agency did not close. After a lot of bark and little bite, the agency temporarily changed its slogan to, “Find your moment.” In the meantime, the number of dating agencies and apps exploded, include those on which you can instantly find a sexual partner, whether or not you are married.

Additionally, in our brave new world, freedom of speech is slowly disappearing. New laws are being enacted that punish protests and insults; the ideas of minorities are being promoted because it is assumed that they are correct purely because they are few; diversity is valued regardless of the quality of the work and, on top of everything, telephones and televisions are listening in on us. Have you noticed that after a conversation you had about something you have to buy or a medical diagnosis, the Internet starts to show you ads and sites on that topic?

It is important to recognize that in spite of all the parallels to Huxley's novel, contemporary society still has the possibility of resistance and critique. Through education, activism, and representation in the media, there exists a potential to challenge and redefine social norms and to attain a more inclusive understanding of self-respect and fulfilment. A bag full of money is not happiness; we are not losing our humanity and the skill of communicating with real-life people. The greatest pleasure in life, besides love, is the ability to recognize true values.

And if you haven't already, read Huxley's book while you are having your well-deserved rest this summer.