Consumerism In Brave New World
In his novel, Brave New World, Aldous Huxley introduces a society based on consumerism. The World State is a self-sustaining machine, in which constant production is supported by constant consumption. Reflecting upon our own society, there are quite a few unnerving parallels. Our society too is based on mass production and consumerism. Big brands dominate the economy and available goods. And just as how it is never clear who controls the machine in the World State, we too are often left clueless as to who truly controls the inner workings of our economy; faceless corporations control modern-day America. The problem with this, as Huxley explores, is that corporations are driven by greed and profit. Their purpose is to maximize profit whilst
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In the World State, this ideology is achieved through hypnopaedia, with phrases such as “But old clothes are beastly … Ending is better than mending,” (49), repeated to children in their sleep. Americans seem to share an obsession with the new. Every year, people rush to the stores to exchange their old iPhone 5’s for new iPhone 6’s, to the point of blatant excess. We are a society founded on excess, on a need for material possessions. In our society, hypnopaedia is replaced by a constant bombardment of advertising, designed to increase consumption - and it is working. 51% of iPhone users update their phone as soon as it is allowed by the provider (Forbes). When our possessions are mass produced and so easily replaceable, they loss their sentimental value. Huxley expands upon this idea, imagining a future where humans become easily replaceable, and so nobody mourns death. When Linda died, nobody had understood John’s grief. Instead, the nurse sees his behavior as, “this disgusting outcry - as though death were something terrible, as though anyone mattered as much as all that,” (206). Huxley explains the dangers of replacing emotional connection through technological advancement, an important warning of where our world of mass production will lead
In the World State, this ideology is achieved through hypnopaedia, with phrases such as “But old clothes are beastly … Ending is better than mending,” (49), repeated to children in their sleep. Americans seem to share an obsession with the new. Every year, people rush to the stores to exchange their old iPhone 5’s for new iPhone 6’s, to the point of blatant excess. We are a society founded on excess, on a need for material possessions. In our society, hypnopaedia is replaced by a constant bombardment of advertising, designed to increase consumption - and it is working. 51% of iPhone users update their phone as soon as it is allowed by the provider (Forbes). When our possessions are mass produced and so easily replaceable, they loss their sentimental value. Huxley expands upon this idea, imagining a future where humans become easily replaceable, and so nobody mourns death. When Linda died, nobody had understood John’s grief. Instead, the nurse sees his behavior as, “this disgusting outcry - as though death were something terrible, as though anyone mattered as much as all that,” (206). Huxley explains the dangers of replacing emotional connection through technological advancement, an important warning of where our world of mass production will lead