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Kerby Anderson
Two of the most famous dystopian novels are 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. In a recent YouTube video Diana Knox says, “Orwell got only half of it right. Huxley the other half.” Orwell’s book described “a world controlled by fear, surveillance, censorship, and formed conformity.” Huxley’s world did not have anyone watching you, but you still conform.
She observes that “Orwell was afraid of what would be done to us. Huxley was afraid of what we would do to ourselves.” In Huxley’s future, we aren’t born but manufactured. There is no war, no poverty, not much crime. Everyone has Soma, a chemical that produces happiness. If you have an uncomfortable thought, just take Soma to return to a pleasant and uncomplicated existence.
Orwell’s future requires continual effort. Someone must run surveillance. Another must deal out punishments. Someone else needs to rewrite historical records. By contrast, Huxley’s society maintains itself.
Neil Postman, in his book Amusing Ourselves to Death wrote, “What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.” Both were right. Some people want to ban books, but many don’t even read books.
We may not read books, but we certainly look at our phones. It has become our Soma, providing information and entertainment. Nearly all (98%) of Americans own a cell phone and check their phones 144 times per day. Our Soma is also addictive.
We should be concerned about being controlled by government, but we should also realize how we are controlled by these devices.
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