Slavery Is Freedom

"Slavery is Freedom"

The world government in Brave New World (BNW) is decidedly totalitarian. Alphas predetermine all aspects of the citizens' life, from simple details such as their dress to the more complicated, such as their role in economic society. Indeed, obsolescing viviparous birth and replacing it with the mass-produced, Bokanovskyfied ectogenesis of fetuses left only room for people as their need arose; however, their need was only apparent in their use. This utilitarian view infiltrates the direction of society in BNW thus, each individuals' choices are subjugated to fulfill social predestination. The paramount value of BNW's society is happiness hence the social predestination through the control of the biological, economic, social, and cultural development of all citizens. The freedom of BNW's citizenry is its slavery; social convention coerces each individuals choices as "every one works for every one else." The World State saw the reorganization of the state to integrate into it the practices of the economy. By controlling government and business the new state was an unstoppable apparatus of control.

During the inter-war period after WWI, society's conception of freedom was once again changing. At the dawn of the 20th century, freedom of contract primarily characterized economic liberty. In the ensuing decades of the Progressive era, redefinition of economic freedom capitalized on the growing rhetoric of a standard of living. A living wage saw that the workers could realize their economic freedom by guaranteeing at least their subsistence. Simultaneously, this new definition of freedom coexisted with expeditious industrial advancements like mass production and scientific management. Furthermore, this clockwork supervision of labor was at odds with the current conceptions of industrial democracy. Foner suggests that during this period of the nation's development of industrial freedom "the keyÐ'...lay in empowering workers to participate in economic decision-making via strong unions freed from managerial hostility and court injunctions." This epoch saw several large, organized strikes that dramatically affected the nation's opinions of the labor agenda. No longer were the demands of unions socialist challenges to capitalism, but rather were people yearning to be free. Labor won a decisive battle in the Supreme Court in 1916 when Louis D. Brandeis decided that unions were an important aspect in American's central freedom, self-determination. With the coming of the Great War, freedom was once again under attack. During WWI congress once again placed limitations on free speech under the Espionage and Sedition acts of 1917 and 1918 respectively. To discourage dissent deportation became an important domestic control policy. Surprisingly, throughout the era the re-racialization of freedom reasserted itself. "Science" supported the natural superiority of the imagined race of Anglo-Saxons while African-americans, southern and eastern Europeans and all Asians were excluded in some way from the growing atmosphere of freedom in the United States. Also, this period saw a rise in mass consumption which in turn diverted the attention of citizens from the infringement upon their civil liberties. Two steps forward and one back seems to summarize the Progressive era's ends. While labor rights expanded, it is important to examine for whom and whether if freedom was truly expanded in an age of political repression that gave birth to the surveillance state. The greatest wish of all people was economic security which dashed against the rocks of the Great Depression.

Repression of humankind's innate free will was the foundation of the World State in BNW. All through a BNW citizen's life, conditioning led them to fulfill their social destiny and enjoy doing it. Before "birth" the caste system of Alphas through Epsilons was responsible for creating each individual at the level of their given class. The Bokanovsky process saw that there were enough lower caste members to stabilize the society. Only alphas afforded singular embryonic development, key to their functioning as the directors of the society. After decanting, the state was responsible for rearing children. Brainwashing-like techniques encouraged BNW's social conventions of mass consumption, free love, conformity, and social segregation/stratification. The free love of BNW's society is extremely bankrupt as it encourages only copulation to fulfill desire rather than fostering care for one another. Instead, solidarity was reinforced though orgy rituals called community sings and solidarity meetings. Reinforcing these mores, Hypnopaedia utilized children's time sleeping as moral coercion. Moreover, coercion seems an incorrect description of how the children were conditioned because implicit within coercion is the ability to dissent. The world state removed the ability to dissent thereby ensuring socio-economic stability.

By comparison, the World Controllers exhibit a strong sense of autonomy but still choose to acquiesce to the practices of the state, as seen in the example of Mustapha Mond. Social exclusion, like that of Bernard Marx and Helmholtz Watson, was the worst sufferable condition in the BNW. As Alphas they were able to think outside their pre-constructed box and per se were ostracized by their peers/caste.

Another vehicle of social and political control in BNW was the pseudo-religion of soma. This chemical Eucharist saw that all normal ennui and dissatisfaction was quelled in the rapture of chemical persuasion/dependence. Lenina exhibits an immaculate exemplification of dependence on the drug in her reactionary overdose to viewing the primitive ritiuals of the savages. Yet another sign of the society's dependence on soma is its use in suppressing the riot John incites. Without the cloud of gaseous soma, John may well have been ripped limb from limb by the delta cretins. They love soma, could not imagine their lives without it, which is a key aspect of addiction. Not only is this society drug addicted, but also it is also addicted to happiness, pleasure or the complete absence of pain. Soma is in fact the symbol of the society's hedonistic need for instant gratification. Soma is used when life becomes