Speculative fiction, also called science fiction, is arguably one of the most poignant and insightful ways to bring attention to social problems. Although sometimes derided and dismissed for its quirky and clichéd elements -- aliens, talking computers, robots and the like -- exemplary speculative fiction uses fantasy and exaggeration to illumine realistic and notable ailments in the human condition. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is the type of work that highlights significant social concerns; back in 1932, Huxley imagined a civilization struggling with dilemmas that are still prominent today: control of the masses and the search for happiness.
Nero and other Roman emperors tried to keep citizens happy. If the people were unhappy, they could blame their misery on the government, and then the government would be in jeopardy. So Caesar gave the people that which gave them the most immediate satisfaction: blood spilled in the Coliseum. Over a millennia later, England felt the cost of unsatisfied subjects when the American colonies declared themselves independent. In Brave New World, the government tries to keep its governed happy by conditioning them to believe they have everything they want. Citizens are taught and created to be happy in their castes; they have access to mind-numbing drugs; they can have sex with many different people without social consequence (women get birth-control and access to Abortion Centers); they have no parents or literature to drive them to accomplish more or to question the system; they have no religion to inspire “nobility or heroism” (213). The list goes on. Although Huxley’s vision is extreme, a similar concept of crowd-pleasing instant gratification exists in American society today.
Like the children in Brave New World, American kids are conditioned daily to do one thing above all: consume. Everyday, television runs countless shows for the sole purpose of getting an audience to watch the commercials, commercials that tell the people what will make them happy, keep them safe, make them popular, get them laid. Advertisers are America’s “Department of Emotional Engineering,” telling people exactly how to feel about particular things and what to buy in order to drive the economy and keep everyone happy. Advertisers even sell Huxley’s soma. “Depressed? Angry? Sexually frutstrated? Constipated? Inattentive?” they ask and then answer, “Take this pill.” If individuals will not take a pill to fix a problem, there are innumerable ways to take the mind elsewhere, especially when it comes to entertainment: computers, videogames, cell phones, movies, sports, food. There are so many ways to take the mind off of important issues like war, poverty, and government incompetence. In turn, Americans vote in fewer numbers, stay committed to the same partner in fewer numbers, volunteer to defend their country in fewer numbers, and are willing to sacrifice for the common good in fewer numbers, but they look out for number one more. That is a byproduct of unbridled consumerism and self-gratification.
The fewer the citizens focusing on the government, the more the government is free to do what it pleases. To mollify a populace, the government must make its constituents believe they are happy with what they have. People must believe things are run as they should be. People must be taught to be complacent and self-centered.
Children are often asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Both the children and their parents will often answer “a doctor” or “a lawyer” or “an engineer,” but they rarely say “I want [my child] to be happy.” Does this mean that people do not want happiness or rather is there a common notion that these careers automatically provide happiness? The answer is likely not as simple as a career choice, but society often presents it that way. Brave New World portrays a society where few people question their happiness because they have been conditioned to believe they are happy from the beginning. Because humans are engineered to love their lot in life as an Alpha, Beta, Delta, or Epsilon, they lack a desire for anything but to conform and give to the group. The American public school system also classifies students in a similar way. There are “A” students, “B” students, and so on going through an industrialized production line, getting a generic educations. There is room for the individual to find a road to happiness, but the paths are obscure and overgrown.
The control of the masses and the individual’s search for happiness are topics with nearly universal relevancy. Brave New World and books like it -- 1984, Fahrenheit 451, etc. -- provide thought-provoking scenarios and commentaries on contemporary society. Through them, readers get the opportunity to reflect and theorize what might happen if society took certain avenues. These books of speculative fiction act as warnings and watchdogs against worlds will hopefully never come to be.
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