Who was right? George Orwell and his '1984' or Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World'?

[Sentient Void]

"We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn't, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of liberal democracy had held. Wherever else the terror had happened, we, at least, had not been visited by Orwellian nightmares.

But we had forgotten that alongside Orwell's dark vision, there was another - slightly older, slightly less well known, equally chilling: Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Contrary to common belief even among the educated, Huxley and Orwell did not prophesy the same thing. Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley's vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.

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 we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions". In 1984, Huxley added, 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."

 

[Blueskies]

To an extent, they were both right.

 

[kah13176]

My signature.

 

[Fredom101]

Great post!

I believe they were both right. Probably Huxley a little more so, since our fellow slaves do more to keep us enslaved than our government ever could.

 

[Marenco]

I'd say both. Huxley saw the first stage of our enslavement. Orwell saw the second.

 

[iGGz]

Hey thanks for posting this. I've seen that before, but could never find it again. I'm reading Brave New World right now.

 

[Carehn]

Orwell is closest. Last i checked i could not just have no strings attached sex with any one i want. I wish huxley was right. I could spend my day taking soma and F&cking hot chicks.

Orwells nightmare will never be. that sort of tyranny would kill off the market before it got to that point. Huxley will never be right because... I want huxley to be right. I want my brave new world.

 

[low preference guy]

Orwells nightmare will never be. that sort of tyranny would kill off the market before it got to that point.

exactly. i read that point for the first time from Ayn Rand, and I didn't think about it before.

 

[Carehn]

exactly. i read that point for the first time from Ayn Rand, and I didn't think about it before.

Beast like but true if you think about it...

By the way all. Huxley was a flaming socialist. But he had a cool idea for a book so i'll let it go. I think orwell considered himself socialist as well but i dont know what ether meant by socialist at the time.

 

[Jandrsn21]

I was just reading a book which spoke about this a little. IT was about a tribe of wanderers, who had been exiled by their former slaves. They were extremely wealthy and the most powerful by far. The people they enslaved were kept in line by creating various factions, while factions never really existed, the children of each region were trained from birth to believe that

 

[Ex Lux lucis]

I believe that the first state(Huxley's) is the enabler of the second(Orwell's).

* From bondage to spiritual faith;
* From spiritual faith to great courage;
* From courage to liberty;
* From liberty to abundance;
* From abundance to complacency;
* From complacency to apathy;
* From apathy to dependence;
* From dependence back into bondage.

 

[malkusm]

I haven't yet read "Brave New World." I suppose it's on my list somewhere. Hell, I could use a fiction

 

[emr1028]

Reality is somewhere in the middle. Both Orwell and Huxley were brilliant visionaries.

 

[Jandrsn21]

For the most part the people live in a Brave New World, for those of us that are aware we live in 1984.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

Zamyatin was closer than both, IMO (see "We"..."Мы" in Russian)
ETA: Here is a free copy of "We" courtesy of LvMI: http://mises.org/resources/5350

 

[affa]

It's a combination -- obviously, we're getting the 'best' of both worlds. We're getting the double plus good newspeak Orwell predicted ("collateral damage", "enhanced interrogation") and the soma Huxley promised (sugar, television, video games, etc.). We're awash in such a sea of information that the white house can change a story by the hour, and we don't seem to care -- no different than Orwell's 1984. And that's if we're even paying attention, and not watching reality tv -- no different that Huxley's A Brave New World.

Neil Postman's books are great, by the way. I highly recommend everyone have a firm background in media analysis, because it makes it far easier to understand what's going on around us in this day and age.

A book I highly suggest EVERYONE read is Propaganda The Formation of Men's Attitudes by Jacques Ellu (1965). It's the best analysis on what propaganda is, and how it works, to date. Understanding what propaganda is, and why, if it's good propaganda, the intended target won't even recognize it, is critical today.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

It's a combination -- obviously, we're getting the 'best' of both worlds. We're getting the double plus good newspeak Orwell predicted ("collateral damage", "enhanced interrogation") and the soma Huxley promised (sugar, television, video games, etc.). We're awash in such a sea of information that the white house can change a story by the hour, and we don't seem to care -- no different than Orwell's 1984. And that's if we're even paying attention, and not watching reality tv -- no different that Huxley's A Brave New World.

Neil Postman's books are great, by the way. I highly recommend everyone have a firm background in media analysis, because it makes it far easier to understand what's going on around us in this day and age.

A book I highly suggest EVERYONE read is Propaganda The Formation of Men's Attitudes by Jacques Ellu (1965). It's the best analysis on what propaganda is, and how it works, to date. Understanding what propaganda is, and why, if it's good propaganda, the intended target won't even recognize it, is critical today.

I was intrigued by this and found a free copy of Propaganda The Formation of Men's Attitudes here. Pretty interesting, thanks.

 

[Pauls' Revere]

The New World Order uses both to repress people, I suppose either methodology would depend in what part of the world you live in. Huxley for America/ The West and Orwell for Russia/China. As examples.

Just a thought.

BTW 1+1=2

 

[PaulConventionWV]

Are we living 1984 by George Orwell, or A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley?

Which one more closely represents our fate if we continue on our present course?

 

[KCIndy]

1984, sad to say.