Bizarro. One word that perfectly describes Huxley's strange utopian society. Elements of the book apply today, but I had trouble with the major premise of the plot. I wanted a bit more explanation on how the society came to be. It's certainly an entertaining, albeit inredibly strange read. Doesn't feel like literature the way 1984 does.

wow

A frighteningly prescient look at the thoughts behind Brave New World, and how they were played out during WWII and still relevant in the 1950s, when Revisited was written... and in 2015, when I read it.

Side note: Read in one sitting while waiting for my sister to give birth.

Scris pe marginea minunatei sale distopii "Minunata lume noua", eseul lui Huxley este citit dupa aproape 60 de ani ca un comentariu de incredibila actualitate. Previziunile sale obscure si pesimiste s-au implinit cu o viteza chiar mai rapida decat se astepta el, iar individul este astazi mai constrans de fortele superioare lui mai mult ca oricand. Insa, precum concluzioneaza si Huxley,

"poate ca fortele care ne ameninta acum libertatea sunt prea puternice pentru a li se putea rezista multa vreme. Si totusi, este de datoria noastra sa facem tot ce putem pentru a ne impotrivi lor."

Compared to 1984, Brave New World is almost light - there are no torture scenes, everyone seems so happy and so on. One might even call it an Utopia. A utopia is where everyone is happy, right? The thing is that this happiness comes at price of freedom.

“Free as a bird,” we say, and envy the winged creatures for their power of unrestricted movement in all the three dimensions. But, alas, we forget the dodo. Any bird that has learned how to grub up a good living without being compelled to use its wings will soon renounce the privilege of flight and remain forever grounded."

People who have got too used to getting everything without using their rights will so forget the method of using them. The voter turn out ratios seems to decline as democracies grow old.

Huxley's governments slave their people to bread and circuses. Bread because it makes people lazy - luxury create far more faithful slaves than suffering ever can. Circuses because they provide distractions and keep them from thinking about right questions. Why bother about questioning the political exploitation of marginalised when you can play Angry Birds?

The only way to retain one's freedom is never to get to easy with it. The dictators of Brave New World do not want to take away or want you to forget you ever had freedom like Orwellian Big Brother did, rather they would that you grow careless about it.

You can do what you will, but you can not will what you will; Government decides what you will. Huxley's governments do not ban or censor newspapers; rather they will it with inconsequential news like those about sports, vampires, gossips of celebrates winning awards or participating in 'reality' shows like Big Brother (intended).

"In Brave New World non-stop distractions of the most fascinating nature (the feelies, orgy-porgy, centrifugal bumble-puppy) are deliberately used as instruments of policy, for the purpose of preventing people from paying too much attention to the realities of the social and political situation."

Orwell suprresses anti-government instincts, limits language so as to make sure that they won't find expression but the instincts are still there - Orwell does allow reality at least in one's mind. Huxley's manipulators teaches people to ignore those instinctstill they die of lack of conscious thought.

Huxley classifies propaganda into rational and irrational; an intelligent propaganda requires mental effort from audience - and audience is by very definition lazy. A good looking female model makes things easier for both parties. More than the psychological controls which Huxley describes, it is this benifit derived from general lethargy of people towards any effort at thinking which is scary (for others. Personally I read it only as a part of my new year resolution to take over the world)

As an example, Huxley talks about an actual institute that was opened (as an response to Nazi propaganda) to teach students how to analyse propaganda on rational basis. The institute was closed when war started (you don't say so!) but even before the school was closed, it attracted criticism from *silence for effect* teachers, military, politicians, advertisers, religious authorities etc. I think this example also tells us why, except for occasional Julian Assange or Snowden, the situation hasn't yet improved despite decades of having 1984 and Brave New World.