The Dangers of Consumerism in Brave New World

The Dangers of Consumerism in Brave New World

Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World is set in a dystopia where citizens are controlled through mindless pleasure seeking and consumption. The state has made its people completely reliant on consumer commodities, thus creating a society in which materialism has been given an almost holy significance. Although the people in the World State are seemingly content, they are only so as a result of ignorance rather than of true happiness. The society in Brave New World attempts to establish a utopia based on consumerism, although this will eventually lead to its own downfall. The concepts of utopia and consumption cannot exist simultaneously, and will only breed ignorant dependency—inevitably resulting in the destruction of truth and individual identity. By ignoring this reality, the state has forfeited any chance at truly creating a perfect society.

By eliminating individualism and proclaiming control over all the needs and desires of its citizens, an almost infantile dependence on the state is established in society. The government becomes the ultimate provider for its people, controlling them through the production and distribution of consumer commodities of which the latter cease to function without. This is clearly illustrated through Linda, who was rendered helpless at the Savage Reservation due to an inability to think or act for herself. She was simply a “Beta” who “worked in the Fertilizing Room,” (104) having no one to teach her any essential life skills. By acting on principles of consumerism, the state has essentially created a legion of narrow minded simpletons who are ignorant of the concepts and skills needed in the natural world. Society as a whole reflects this fact, as its citizens heavily rely on artificial pleasure through the use of soma, synthetic music, and feely presentations. Worrisome thoughts and distasteful emotions are simultaneously dismissed through the saying, “a gramme is better than a damn” (100). Through the provision of soma and other mind-altering forms of entertainment, the state has, in essence, produced a race of psychologically immature individuals who are incapable of living without their deities of consumption and provision.

In the World State, individualism and all manifestations of identity have been destroyed. Nature, religion, and the concept of the individual have all been dissolved in favour of artificial constructs of living. All human elements of individualism and identity have been replaced by the concept of the common good, and the notions of “family, monogamy,” and “romance” have been reduced to the paradigm “everyone belongs to everyone else” (34). With the help of technology, human beings are created with a specific set of expectations, and their sense of self is confined to their value as a member of their caste. Ultimately, the meaning of the individual itself is lost to consumerism. Life is considered meaningless and insignificant, as the state can “make a new one with the greatest ease,” (128) and as many as they deem fit. Psychological conditioning and “Bokanovsky’s Process” (3) have made it impossible for true genetic diversity, as physical and psychological characteristics are congruent within members of the same social ranking. Identity has been destroyed, instead replaced by singular thought and conformity in societal values.

In the New World Order, there is a constant philosophical struggle regarding whether truth and happiness are genuinely compatible. The state believes that the only acceptable form of truth is the one that it asserts and promotes. Methods of instant gratification and pleasure are considered plausible and in the norm, while any action that requires thought is deemed “ignoble” (148) and discouraged through conditioning. In the world created by Huxley, nature and art are considered ludicrous, and only exist in the inane world of the Savage Reservations. As an attempt to comply with these ideals, the individual is immersed and lost inside the culture of consumption. Consumerism becomes on par with religion, and instead of having an understanding of pain and ethics, “anyone can be virtuous now. You carry at least half your morality about in a bottle. Christianity without tears—that’s what soma is” (210). In time, consumerism becomes the new nature—the new God. John the Savage is the voice of reason for the modern reader. He is able to see the flaws within civilized society that keep it from becoming a true utopia. John begs for “freedom,” and “sin” (211). He yearns for the right to suffer his unhappiness, because he realizes that Shakespeare, art, and religion are more effective in making people happy than conditioning to generate mindless obedience. The people of the society are unaware that truth and happiness can exist simultaneously, as can truth and sadness. Consequently, they fail to create a society where everyone is truly content.