Book Review – Brave New World (What is the Price of Happiness?)

This essay compares the civilized and savage societies depicted in Brave New World and criticizes the problems with civilized societies that sacrifice important values such as science, literature, family, death, inequality, and love for the sake of happiness. It concludes that a life that emphasizes family and love, with the pursuit of humanity and truth, is preferable.

 

Recently, when I had some free time on my hands, a friend suggested I read the book and lent me his copy of Brave New World. He gave me a brief description of the book’s setting, a futuristic fictional world where human happiness is the highest priority, and my opinion of it was very different from his. In the book, the world is divided into civilized and barbaric societies, where happiness is strictly pursued and truth, science, and literature are all suppressed. On the other hand, the barbarian society can be easily seen as the Indian society. In this society, people live like human beings, paying a high price for happiness. My friend was in favor of the civilized society, and I was in favor of the barbarian society. Just as my friend and I had different opinions, I think it would be interesting to read this book and discuss it with others.
To briefly explain what the book is about, the story is told from the point of view of a civilized society and those who don’t fit into it, as well as a barbarian society. In civilized society, humans are produced in factories and artificially hatched. Dozens of twins with identical genes are born, and before they are born, they are assigned a class: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, or Epsilon. Each class determines their nutrition in the fetal state. For example, Epsilons are deliberately deprived of nutrition and oxygen, making them physically inferior to the other ranks. Another important aspect is conditioned reflex training, which is the acceptance of one’s rank, either in the womb or through repeated training as a child. Those born into the Gamma class accept their lot and work hard to get by. Those born into the Alpha class are able to live their lives as they wish, but other than that, it’s like a completely mechanized society. Everyone takes a drug called Soma, which increases their motivation to work and makes them feel happy, even when they’re in pain or sad. Just like today’s drugs, it’s a drug that makes you ignore reality and just feel happy. On the other hand, in the barbarian society, people grow old, get sick, and die, and their living conditions are not very hygienic, but they still have children and build families. Now that I’ve outlined the background of the book, I’d like to share my opinion on why I think the system of civilized society is undesirable.
I think civilized societies sacrifice too much for human happiness. First, science and literature are both banned in a civilized society governed by a world fuhrer. Science is necessary to maintain a civilized society, but no more. Literature is also useless in promoting human happiness. Rather, it is a harmful potential to change society. However, I do believe that academia is well worth pursuing. The discovery of new truths through the advancement of science and the happiness that comes with living in a more developed and civilized society are certainly worth pursuing. I believe that this happiness is more valuable than the happiness that comes with drug dependence, and even if it is less valuable, the stability of that happiness is worth giving up for the things I’m about to talk about.
Secondly, I can’t imagine the concept of family in a civilized society. This is my biggest regret about civilized society. Since all human beings are born artificially, the concept of parents does not exist at all. Since there are no families, every individual is alone and has only friends. Without the warmth of home and the affection of family, society would be very empty and dull. It’s a pity that we can only enjoy leisure and pursue pleasure alone, and not have the humanity of family support and embrace.
Third, there is no fear of death and sadness. Humans are constantly trained from a young age to have a conditioned reflex against death. As a result, we are not afraid of death at all, and we don’t feel sad when someone close to us dies. In some ways, this is a good thing because it allows us to live our lives without worrying about death, but it can be dangerous if people don’t mind dying. Although it’s not explicitly stated in the book, this can lead to a disregard for life. If a dictator, such as a world leader, were to kill people at will because they disobeyed his orders, there might not be anyone who would see that as wrong. Of course, this doesn’t happen in the book. People who have ideas that might disrupt the system are exiled to a remote island, but no one is killed. Perhaps the society is so stable that such extreme measures are unnecessary, but if death is taken lightly, I can’t guarantee that the things I fear won’t happen.
All humans in this society take class inequality for granted. Even the lowest class, the Epsilon class, fully accepts their situation, and have no complaints as long as they do their jobs. This is all due to conditioned reflex training, which I think is wrong. It’s like the class system of the Joseon Dynasty, where your future is determined at birth, even before you are born. You are fetally fed and conditioned in the womb according to your class and occupation, and once you are born, you do that job until you die, rationed with soma and content with that. All human beings have the right to live equally, but this right is routinely ignored in civilized societies. It is not right to perpetuate inequality just because the class that suffers from it does not recognize it. It’s like lying to others and profiting from it. Even if the person being deceived is completely unaware of it, if there is someone who benefits from it, it could be considered criminal in the extreme. It’s just that in this society, the person who benefits doesn’t know it. In any case, this inequality is clearly wrong, and although all humans should be equal, a civilized society cannot be maintained. My friend responds to my opinion by asking why we should eliminate classes when everyone is happy enough on their own. In this system, the sum total of human happiness would be maximized, with everyone living happily and without complaint. This is a good thing because there are no unhappy or unpleasant people in the real world, but I don’t think it’s desirable to maintain this system with the problem of inequality. The happiness of people in different classes will be different, and no one has the right to decide the future of another human being.
The last point is the attitude towards sexual intercourse, which is one of the ways in which this society differs from reality. Humans engage in “sexual play” from a young age. It’s easy to do it with anyone from a young age because it’s pleasurable. There is no incision and no jizo, no concept of a lover, and all men and women are just playmates. The inability to love, cherish, and protect someone in this way is another thing we have to give up in this civilized society. It is certainly sad to have to give up the happiness that makes your heart flutter, makes you laugh, and makes you feel like you have a lifetime of happiness because of someone. Of course, the characters in the book may develop feelings of mutual attraction, but these feelings can easily change at any time, and the responsibilities and obligations of marriage and love are not as strong as in real life.
After finishing the book, I realized that despite the many advantages of civilized society, I could never accept it. Humans should be able to pursue the truth, and sometimes put happiness on hold. If happiness comes at the expense of everything else, then that society is not desirable. Civilized societies are safe and perfect on the surface, but underneath they are full of loneliness and loneliness, where we give up our humanity. Having a family, loving someone, and growing old is more human, and I think it’s more fulfilling to live that way.