New Meaning in a Brave New World
The motto of the "Brave New World" was "Community, Identity, and Stability." In the following essay the actual meanings of these terms will be addressed.
The term "Community" really did not have the meaning that we are accustomed to hearing and speaking in the modern day and age (1996). Instead it stands for almost a lack of "Community", meaning that there is no choice of where one ranks in the "Community", instead you are assigned even before production (natural birth is non-existent) your place in society and a person could never know what are the differences between being an Alpha or a Gamma. A person in the community is shared by everyone in the "Community", everyone belongs to everyone every person is shared sexually with one another, and there is no emotional bond because are breed not to have them.
The term "Identity" is a complete opposite from the way that we are accustomed to seeing it and feeling it, in other words it is non-existent no one has any feelings, and no one posses any of their own personal characteristics, they are all alike. If a person were to try and find their own identity they were looked down upon and had to take a soma holiday (soma was a legal drug that took away all of a persons feelings or individualized idea’s). The soma holiday was everyone’s way out of having to deal with anything unpleasant or their way of having a good time.
The "Stability" in the "Brave New World" is a different sort of "Stability", the "Stability" in "Brave New World" is economic stability, clothes were not to be mended, instead new ones were to be purchased to support economic stability and growth. Nothing was allowed to be produced or purchased that was not very expensive and did not require money to keep it in good running condition. If the society let cheap things onto the market or things were fixed easily what would happen to the vast economic society, it would develop cracks and eventually fall to the ground with a thundering crash.
The entire society in "Brave New World" was based solely on science and technology and not on the social aspect of people, personal freedoms, and feeling differently from your fellow man. Science and technology was not only the basis of their being, and the way they lived it was also the sole reason that life seemed so different than it does in the present day and age (1996). Hopefully in the future their will never be a future as controlling as this one was depicted as.
In the book "Ecotopia" each of the before stated terms take on an entire different meaning than they have in the "Brave New World". "Ecotopia is a place where science and technology is used to advance a civilization, but instead it is used to maintain it.
The term "Community" really does not have the meaning that we are accustomed to in this modern day and age (1996). Instead it stands for almost a super bonding of "Community", meaning that there is no one person in control in the "Community", however it is a more peace loving cult that more or less worships nature. Your place in society as a person is totally up to you, there will be no person telling you how you are to think and act. A person in the community is brother or sister to everyone in the "Community", everyone belongs to one big family. Your sexuality with one another is also up to you, and there is a strong emotional bond because they are a part of everyday life.
The term "Identity" is a very similar to the way that we are accustomed to seeing it and feeling it, in other words it is existent only on a higher scale and it is much more visible. Everyone posses their own personal characteristics, they are all different. If a person were to try and find their own identity they were looked up to. And while recreational drug use was legal (Marijuana), the reason for doing it is as follows; *"Marijuana is from the Earth, God put this here for me and you, take advantage man, take advantage".
The "Stability" in "Ecotopia" is a different sort of "Stability", the "Stability" in "Ecotopia" is agricultural stability, clothes were to be mended and made from natural fibers, and every thing made did not harm the land it only helped it. Nothing was allowed to be produced or purchased that was not all natural and did not biodegrade after it’s use was extremely out lived. If the society let harmful things to the environment onto the market the land might get hurt and that was not tolerable.
The entire society in "Ecotopia" was based on the fact that the social aspect of people and not on science and technology. Personal freedoms, and feeling differently from your fellow man were embraces. Science and technology was not the basis of their being and the way they lived it was the reason that nature and life seemed so much more important than it does in the present day and age (1996). Hopefully in the future there will be a finding a medium between this and today’s world.
Works Cited
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley HarperPerennial, 1923
Ecotopia, Ernest Callenbach Bantam New Age Books, 1975
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