In this blog post, I reflect on reading 『Brave New World』 and reconsider what it means to be human and what true happiness is.
Recently, as I found myself with some free time, a friend recommended a book and lent me their copy of ‘Brave New World’. My friend briefly explained the book’s setting—a fictional future world where human happiness is the paramount value—and our opinions on it diverged significantly. The book divides society into two main types: civilized and savage. In civilized society, happiness is pursued relentlessly, while truth, science, literature, and other pursuits are all suppressed. In contrast, the barbarian society can be seen as, simply put, an Indian society. In this society, people live humanely while paying a sufficient price to attain happiness. My friend defended the civilized society, while I supported the barbarian society. Just as my friend and I had differing views, I think it would be quite interesting to read this book and discuss it with others.
First, a brief summary of the book: The story unfolds primarily from the perspective of those unable to adapt to civilized society and the barbarians introduced into it. In civilized society, humans are factory-produced and artificially incubated. Dozens of identical twins are born, and their class—Alpha, Beta, Gamma, or Epsilon—is predetermined before birth. Nutritional intake is determined for each class while still in the fetal stage. For example, Epsilons have their nutrition and oxygen supply deliberately restricted, resulting in a physically inferior build compared to other classes. Another crucial aspect is conditioned reflex training; through repetitive education during the fetal stage and childhood, individuals learn to accept their assigned class. Those born into the Gamma class simply accept their lot and diligently perform the tasks assigned to them. While the Alpha class can live as they choose, the rest of society feels like a completely mechanized system. Everyone takes a drug called ‘soma’ to feel happiness, which boosts work motivation and induces a sense of well-being even during distress or sorrow. It’s like today’s drugs, making people ignore reality and feel only happiness. In contrast, the Savage society sees people grow old, get sick, and die, and the living conditions aren’t very sanitary, but they live by having children and forming families. After roughly examining the book’s background like this, I want to share my opinion that the system of the Civilized society is undesirable.
I believe civilized society sacrifices too much for human happiness. First, in the civilized society governed by the World President, both science and literature are banned. Science is only needed at the level necessary to maintain civilized society; anything beyond that is unnecessary. Literature, too, serves no purpose in enhancing human happiness. Rather, it possesses only harmful potential that could change society. However, I believe scholarship has sufficient value to continue pursuing. Discovering new truths through scientific progress and the happiness attainable in a more advanced civilized society are clearly pursuits worth valuing. I believe this happiness is more valuable than that obtained through drug dependency. And even if it were less valuable, the stable happiness it provides makes it regrettable to abandon, especially considering what I will discuss next.
Second, in a civilized society, the concept of family is unimaginable. This is what I find most regrettable about civilized society. Since all humans are born artificially, the concept of parents simply does not exist. Without families, every individual is alone, with only friends existing. A society lacking the warmth of home and familial affection would be profoundly empty and bleak. It’s regrettable that people only enjoy leisure and pursue pleasure alone, lacking the human warmth of family members embracing and supporting each other.
Third, there is no fear or sadness associated with death. Humans undergo continuous conditioned reflex training about death from childhood. As a result, they feel no fear of death whatsoever and do not grieve even when close friends or family members die. One might argue this is preferable since it allows living without death worries, but if people become indifferent to death, it could be dangerous. Though not explicitly stated in the book, this could lead to a disregard for life. If a dictator like the World President arbitrarily killed someone for disobeying his orders, no one might deem it wrong. Of course, this didn’t happen in the book. Those harboring ideas that could disrupt the system are merely exiled to remote islands; no one is killed. The society is so stable that such extreme measures were unnecessary, but if death is treated lightly, I cannot guarantee the situation I fear won’t occur.
Every human in this society accepts class inequality as natural. Even the lowest class, the Epsilons, fully accept their lot, diligently performing only their assigned tasks without complaint. This is all due to conditioned reflex training, which I believe is wrong. It feels like observing the class society of the Joseon Dynasty, where one’s future is determined at birth—no, even before birth. From the fetal stage, individuals receive tailored nutritional supplements and conditioned reflex training according to their class and occupation. After birth, they perform that work until death, receiving rations of soma and living contentedly with it. Every human has the right to live equally, yet in this civilized society, such rights are routinely ignored. Maintaining inequality simply because the affected classes remain unaware of it is unjust. I believe this is akin to deceiving others with lies to gain advantage. Even if the deceived person remains completely unaware, if someone benefits from it, this could be seen as an extreme crime. The defining characteristic of this society is that even the beneficiaries remain unaware of this fact. Regardless, such inequality is clearly wrong, and all humans should be equal. Yet, if that were the case, civilized society could not be sustained. My friend counters my view by asking why we must abolish class when everyone already feels sufficiently happy. If all humans lived joyfully without complaint or dissatisfaction, the total sum of human happiness within this system would be maximized. While this has its merits—since no unhappy or dissatisfied people exist in reality—I believe maintaining such a system while harboring the problem of inequality is undesirable. The happiness felt by humans will certainly differ according to each class, and no one has the right to arbitrarily decide another human’s future.
Finally, one point to examine is this society’s attitude toward sexual intercourse, one of the ways it differs from reality. Humans enjoy a game called ‘sexual play’ from a young age. Because it can be pleasurable, they readily engage in it with anyone from childhood. Chastity and fidelity are nowhere to be found; the concept of a lover doesn’t exist, and all men and women are merely playmates. Thus, the inability to feel love, cherish someone, or desire to protect them is another aspect one must relinquish in this civilized society. It is undeniably sad that one must abandon the happiness of feeling one’s heart flutter for someone, sharing laughter, and spending a lifetime together. Of course, affection does arise between characters in books, but these feelings can change easily at any time, and responsibilities and obligations like marriage or love, as seen in reality, are hard to find.
After finishing the book, despite the many advantages of civilized society, I felt I could never accept such a society. Humans must be able to pursue truth, and sometimes happiness must be put off for a while. A society that sacrifices everything else solely for happiness is never desirable. Civilized society may appear safe and perfect on the surface, but within it lies loneliness and desolation, filled with people living while abandoning their humanity. I believe a life spent forming a family, loving someone, and growing old together is more human, and living such a life brings me greater happiness.
