The Brave New World of 1984

Photo by solarisgirl (Wikimedia Commons)

If there are two visions of a dystopian future that continue to present themselves to our modern imaginations, they would be those put forward by George Orwell in his 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (or just 1984), and Aldous Huxley in his 1932 novel Brave New World.

Orwell’s vision was of a totalitarian state replete with mass surveillance and regimented repression. It was largely modeled on Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany.

In a not-so-thinly veiled critique of socialism, Huxley’s foil was technology – or our capitulation to it – leading to a caste system based on intelligence that had, itself, been manipulated by technology to various ends. While in a later foreword Huxley confessed to leaving out one of the great technological achievements of the day – nuclear energy – he was prescient in his sense of how reproductive technology and psychological manipulation could be employed.

Neither work held out much hope of a human utopia and lay in direct contrast to the view that humanity could – through technology or will – solve all economic and social problems. This was shattered through a first world war, which was quickly followed by a second. Whether a “boot in the face” (Orwell) or a ruling oligarchy (Huxley), the result was the same: suppression.

Neil Postman referred to both authors in the foreword to his book Amusing Ourselves to Death, where he wrote:

What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared that we would become a captive culture…. In 1984… people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.

In short, Postman noted that the great fear of George Orwell, as conveyed in his novel 1984, was of a day when there might be those who would ban books. But it was Aldous Huxley’s portrait of the future in Brave New World that was more visionary. Huxley feared that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.

Both, in fact, have proven prescient. Rather than one or the other proving true, both have seen their cultural manifestations. I was reminded of this when reading the recent announcement by the publisher of the works of Roald Dahl. As reported by the U.K.’s Telegraph:

Augustus Gloop is no longer fat, Mrs. Twit is no longer fearfully ugly, and the Oompa-Loompas have gone gender-neutral in new editions of Roald Dahl’s beloved stories.

The publisher, Puffin, has made hundreds of changes to the original text, removing many of Dahl’s colourful descriptions and making his characters less grotesque.

The review of Dahl’s language was undertaken to ensure that the books “can continue to be enjoyed by all today,” Puffin said….

The changes were made by the publisher, Puffin, and the Roald Dahl Story Company, now owned by Netflix, with sensitivity readers hired to scrutinise the text.

Yes, many cried out that Orwell’s predictions have finally come true. And due to the backlash, Dahl’s publishers have vowed to keep the classic texts in print.

But Orwell’s predictions, along with Huxley’s, have been coming true for quite some time.

James Emery White

Sources

Anita Singh and Ed Cumming, “Augustus Gloop No Longer Fat as Roald Dahl Goes PC,” The Telegraph, February 17, 2023, read online.

Ed Cumming, Abigail Buchanan, Genevieve Holl-Allen and Benedict Smith, “The Rewriting of Roald Dahl,” The Telegraph, February 24, 2023, read online.

Simon Heffer, “George Orwell’s Chilling Prediction Has Come True – It’s Time to Make a Stand,” The Telegraph, February 22, 2023, read online.

Elizabeth Blair, “Roald Dahl's publisher responds to backlash by keeping 'classic' texts in print,” NPR, February 24, 2023, read online.