Aldous Huxley

Aldous Huxley’s dystopian novel, Brave New World, published in 1932 as the world was emerging from the Great Depression and on the cusp of totalitarianism and war. It is set in a future version of Earth called ‘World State’ where humans lead a comfortable but boring existence through drug-induced comfort and artificial reproduction. In this happy society humans are known as ‘Universals’ and are classified into castes based on their role in society, such as Alpha or Beta; essentially dividing people into those who have more privileges or less privileges based on their attributes. In this world there is no pain, fear, anxiety or sadness – just tranquil contentment. Aldous Huxley intended his book as an attack on what he saw as the false utopias of his time – from Communism to Fascism to New Liberalism – which he believed would lead to greater suffering in the long run.

Huxley’s World State

Aldous Huxley’s World State is a society where people are biologically modified and socially engineered to carry out specific roles in society. These roles are further classified with the use of colour-based badges and symbols. For example, the ‘reds’ are the lowest caste who work in the mines and live in poor conditions. On the other end are the ‘blues’, the highest caste who are educators and decision-makers. Huxley also describes a drug-induced state of euphoric comfort. This ‘soma’ is consumed at regular intervals in tiny doses, so that people do not become dependent on it, but experience just enough of its effect to lead a pleasant life without suffering or sadness. The people of the World State believe that the drug has been discovered by themselves, when it is actually manufactured in the Hatchery and Conditioning Centre.

Brave New World’s Hatchery and Conditioning Centre

In the centre of Brave New World’s World State is the Hatchery and Conditioning Centre (HCC), which Huxley describes as a “battery breeding-stations that produce humanoids”. In the HCC, eggs are fertilised in incubators, then incubated and kept in warm environments until they are ready to hatch – with their condition determined by the colour of their container. The newborns are conditioned to do their job in society by controlling their environment. For example, the pink infants are conditioned to become “slavishly subservient”, while the blue infants are conditioned to become “authoritative”.

The Rise of the Alphas, Betas and Epsilons

Alpha, Beta and Epsilon are the three castes of the highest society. Alpha and Beta are the “upper-caste” people who are intelligent, physically fit and have high-paying jobs. Alpha and Beta are regarded as superior to the Epsilons, or “the other” – the lower castes, who are often described as “morons” or “imbeciles”. Epsilons are the “lowest” caste and often have a job that requires no intelligence such as working with animals. Epsilons are also not intelligent enough to comprehend the concept of ‘pain’, which allows them to work as ‘decanting’ (or ‘decanting’) operators who assist in the artificial reproduction of other castes.

Brave New World’s Religion: “END-END-END-END-END”

Huxley’s characters are conditioned to believe that their society is the best and that their way of life is “absolutely right”. They believe that their society is created and governed by Ford, the “all-powerful, all-wise, ever-benevolent” ruler. They are conditioned to believe in the following five principles: “END is the name of the god. END is god.” “Ford, the man, is applied god-science.” “Ford, the order, is applied god-science.” “Ford, the plan, is applied god-science.” “End is right, end is wrong.”

Brave New World’s Solution for Overpopulation: Incubi and Cumbric Culture

The people of Brave New World have added two other castes to the society to tackle overpopulation, which is the biggest problem in Huxley’s World State. The first are the ‘incubi’ – people whose only purpose is to procreate but are not engineered to do any other work. The second are the ‘cumbric’ – people whose only purpose is to do hard jobs such as mining but are not engineered to procreate.

Huxley’s View on Reproduction in the Future

In the future, children are genetically engineered in laboratories and raised in “bog-standard, turn-out-like-their-father-and-mother” nurseries by “conditioning and hypnopaedia”. This aims to create a “standardised person” who is “homogeneous” and “identical” in every way. Huxley is critical of this society in which there is no diversity and no room for “anything new” to happen. He believes that it would be impossible to create a standardised person because every person is different and has their own unique features.

Conclusion

Huxley’s world of Brave New World is one in which there is no room for new ideas to be born, because the society wants to keep things the same. This is done through the use of genetic engineering, the conditionings of children, and the consumption of ‘soma’, which keeps people tranquil and unchanging. However, change is inevitable, and this can be seen in Huxley’s own life. He studied biology at Cambridge University, but did not complete his degree because of his “intermittent illnesses”. This led him to focus on writing, and he wrote many novels and short stories, including Brave New World. His most famous work, which has been translated into more than 25 languages, was written during a time of change in society, when totalitarianism was on the rise and people were worried about their freedom.