Brave New World Essay - Society's Moral Decline

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Brave New World Society's Moral Decline

Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World out of fear of society's

apparent lack of morals and corrupt behaviour during the roaring twenties.

Huxley believed that the future was doomed to a non-individualistic,

conformist society, a society void of the family unit, religion and human

emotions. Throughout the novel, Huxley predicts many events for the future,

most of which concentrate on a morally corrupt society. The most important

of these predictions include: greater sexual freedom, over-population,

brain-washing/sleep-teaching, and the use of mind altering drugs. Aldous

Huxley's Brave New World warns of a possible future dystopia, based on

social attitudes and medical advancements of his time.

Huxley's future dystopia is created largely by perverted sexual

freedoms, which in turn cause corrupt individuals, entirely lacking ethics

and morals. Sexual promiscuity appears to be a much more frequent activity

now then it was in the Thirties. Critics blame "...the advent of the pill

for declining morality and indiscriminate sexual activity." Many believe

that each time medicine reduces the risk of unwanted diseases and

pregnancies, society, on the whole, will increase its sexual activity.

Huxley's prediction of promiscuity is based on his iron law of sexuality:

"As political and economic freedom diminishes, sexual freedom tends

compensatingly to increase." A current example of Huxley's belief is China.

China is the last remaining communist regime, it also suffers from having

one fifth of the world's population within its borders. Needless to say,

China's large population is a direct result of a very sexually active

society. Aldous Huxley's fears of the future caused him to write about

sexual freedom and the resulting over-population in Brave New World.

Over-population is another problem which is addressed by Huxley,

and is the direct result of sexual freedom. The fear which Huxley addresses

concerning population control is: "Food supplies cannot grow as fast as

people can, and population growth in underdeveloped countries will jeopardize

the world order." Simply stated the growing population of earth will

consume more than it will be able to produce, unless some form of regulating

births can be created. This is an obvious truth today, as millions of

people are starving each day. The brave new world that Huxley speaks of,

is a warning to mankind concerning its destruction of the laws of nature.

For example, marriage is forbidden, as well as, pregnancies, and mothers

are non-existent because possible children result in abortion.

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