So I started reading Aldous Huxley's "A Brave New World" ( conspiracy )

submitted by Darksigner22

I'm a senior in high school, and I was honestly flabbergasted when my teacher (who at times is quite leftist) told us that we're reading this book (and surprisingly, one of her favorites). I've only read two chapters so far but it's clear that I can already see some parallels between the USA and the World State (lack of education, nobody reads books anymore, consumerism, thought police) and it made me wonder why it hasn't been banned yet. Most people say that Orwell (or in these times oh-well) was right, but I think that both Huxley and Orwell were right. The United States (and Europe and such) is a Huxlian society transitioning to Orwellian while more anti-democratic countries (China) are the opposite. What are your guys' thoughts on this? Are we truly a captive culture?

k_digi

Ha ha read those two books to find out. He had more than a 'odd' nature, maybe precognitive even.

Just as important are the PKD books

  • Martian Time Slip
  • 3 stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
  • flow my tears the policeman said.

I personally liked man in the high castle least it was like Philip was conscious of the holo-pressure so he was constantly subconsciously wrecking his writing style/freedom.

k_digi

You will never be able to understand this planet / colony unless you understand the politics outside it, (also some key info regarding yourself) but that is very difficult as it is all very well hidden / confused.

Wonko_the_Sane

what happens when these 2 methods of controls no longer work?

k_digi

Humans have to make a decision. Some probabilities lead to colony termination but the colony will always exist just the humans might change.

I don't agree or disagree with this specifically.

It is just a matter everyone ending up where they belong.

Earth is just a little chess table a tiny little one. Humans don't even know about the game let alone know the rules or any of the objectives. Or any of the players.

k_digi

in your leisure read ' Sirens of Titan' by Vonnegut.

also 'Cats Cradle' same author

also 'Flow my tears the Policeman said' PKD (actually read all PKD books)

also look at this people....a real discussion here this doesn't happen much on the net anymore as per your subject ha ha

NotToBeContrarian

I think of the trilogy as 1984 describing the transition from "today", BNW is part two describing the bourgeois utopia and We by Yevgeny Zamyatin describing the actual dystopia awaiting humanity.

lxbb

re-read 1984 and BNW recently but never heard of We. Bought for 99p, thanks!

scvoon

I think it's notable that you picked up on how supposedly "anti-democratic" China seems to be becoming less Orwellian compared to the United States.

Here's the thing about Chinese government control...at least they're honest about it. Everyone knows they're being watched, and for better or worse, they know propaganda for what it is.

Compare this to the USA where social control is maintained through a kind of double-speak mental conditioning while the government espouses freedom and liberty.

A lot of people will disagree, but I've been starting to believe that once China establishes economic world domination, it will end up becoming the example of personal liberty that America always touted itself to be.

squidicuz

aye

srgmpdns

Both lived at times of unpredictable, wrenching change- I think they both took current trends, they saw and didn't like, exaggerated them a bit and went from there.

There are plenty of other examples of this- Gulliver's Travels (maybe), Idiocracy (taken in part from The Marching Morons ) and many others mentioned in other replies.

One work I can recommend: Anthony Burgess, the outhor of Clockwork Orange, wrote a book- '1985' - with an essay about Orwell and an update of 1984, using the same techniques as Orwell, taking things he saw in pre-Thatcher Britain and extrapolating from there.

53army

Havent read BNW but 1984 makes me scared more than any horror book i ever read

doginventer

Brave New World Revisited

Aldous Huxley

http://www.huxley.net/bnw-revisited/index.html

Iforgotmy_other_acct

You think that's bad? Go read Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

You ain't seen nothin' yet.

Sciency

The scariest part of BNW (imo) are the implications of what was done to arrive at the society Huxley depicts. In my mind, the events in 1984 are those leading up to a great globalist takeover (3 states colluding for power), and the events of Brave New World are largely those after the horrors of such a takeover.

If you look at 1984 as part one of a trilogy, and BNW as part 3, it's the unknown "part 2" that really freaks me out. That's what I feel like we're headed for, possibly even in our lifetimes.

ineedbettername

You may also do well posting this subject on /v/TheDinnerTable too.

JackBurns

If you've read 1984 then read Huxleys Brave New World: Revisited. It's more of an essay than a novel comparing the two. Brave New World is an amazing book.

srgmpdns

You may be interested in this:

http://www.avianbonesyndrome.com/2013/09/08/orwell-vs-huxley-two-dystopian-worlds-compared/

There are literally dozens of essays attached to this comic around the net.