Consumerism In Brave New World

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley depicts a future world that has mechanized and removed all sense of life to being human. In this world, people work for the common good of the community and are conditioned to dislike what, today, we would consider common and healthy relationships with people and environments. The story follows a man, John, not born into the culture and his struggle with the unfamiliarity with the “Brave New World”. Published in 1932, Brave New World often leaves roots back to the world Aldous was in when he was writing the novel. I believe the genius of Huxley’s writing was his ability to effectively select the traits of 1930’s society that would later become a staple for Americanism in the coming century and, in time, allowing for a relatable story to the modern day while giving us warning to the future.

Brave New World covers a range of themes and issues that have been pertinent to moral society since it was first published in 1932. From genetic engineering to class struggles, Brave New World examines a future where embryos are chemically treated to ensure they fit a certain class, and then babies and children are hypnotized into believing governmental doctrines as pure truth. The use of Soma, a narcotic used as an instant anti-depressant, casts a worrying shadow on the chemical treatment of clinical depression to an extent, and ethical grey areas such as IVF are easily comparable to the key themes of the book. The enforced consumer society in Brave New World is strikingly familiar. Huxley may have written it in as a satire of the society

Through the Cold War, America was transitioning in various ways such as the way messages were shared, consumerism, and the constant race against the Soviet Union. During the years 1959-1964, Rod Serling, a New York writer and playwright began using one of the newest inventions, the television, as a way to share his opinion about controversial topics. The rise of the television allowed Serling to access to a larger audience whom he could share his opinion in the form of science fictional episodes in the show The Twilight Zone. Although the show seems ominous and a horror related TV show, it allows us to understand the effects and feeling towards topics such as a possible nuclear war, consumerism, space exploration.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries were a time of immense change in Europe. Germany had recently unified, destabilizing the centuries-old balance of power. The second industrial revolution was in full swing, and Europeans thrilled to the latest inventions, from the skyscraper, the first airplanes, and, most ominously, to the machine guns of Maxim and Krupp. During this time, Europeans perceived sports in a number of ways. First of all, many saw sports as an arena to train their nations for war. Secondly, others saw sports as a unifying principle around which to build nationalism and ethnic identity. Finally, many simply saw sports simply as a healthy and productive activity.

In his novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley confronts the way in which mass production and capitalism serve to disempower the individual by cementing a self-reinforcing system of consumption and production wherein the individual is reduced to his or her utilitarian function. Although the novel touches on a number of ways in which the individual is disempowered and commodified in contemporary society, from pacifying drugs to an overreliance on technology, Huxley's critique of capitalism remains the most prominent, if only because the novel includes explicit references to the father of modern capitalist production, Henry Ford. Huxley's critique of capitalism becomes most apparent in the third chapter of the novel, when the tour group is taken over by Mustapha Mond, "his fordship" and the Resident Controller for Western Europe. Examining Mond's discussion of the time before the institution of the World State, Huxley's creative demonstration of capitalist reduction, and the function of the individual within capitalist society reveals the ways in which the novel seeks to highlight the dangers of unrestrained capitalist and the consumer culture is perpetuates.

There is a very big epidemic of consumerism within the United Sates and it is a result of the contribution of many factors within our society. It is evident that this is not necessary when one views other communities throughout the world but America has yet to make the changes it needs to solve this problem. A big problem with retailers and producers of products is their use of sweatshops, which are located in and out of the U.S. Sweatshops are a huge problem because they are known for having very low safety standards for their employees and mistreat their employees consistently. The reason they are used is because they can give the company better profits off of their goods.

When Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1931, nobody imagined that his fairytale story would someday be a reality. It is almost scary to see how accurate Huxley's far-fetched fantasies came to be. When Huxley wrote about the conformity, drug use and sex and technology of the society, he was almost pinpoint exact to predicting today's societies. Unfortunately, all of these things haven't exactly changed our society today for the better.

In the book, Brave New World, written by Adolus Huxley the author demonstrates how consumerism fills the underminded individuals with artificial "happiness" due to unnessacary luxuries. With the huge emphasize of consumptions, it makes them feel obliterated to buy, buy and buy without the need to. For example, in our era we are filled with luxuries like; electronics, endless amounts of clothing, expensive shoes or watches. We like the thought of a seven-hundred dollar watch on our wrists because it fills people with exictment taunting them to buy more and more expensive materials. In BNW, buying is considered second nature.

Clouding history, diminishing youthful intelligence, and weakening culture to fit a sensored life, more and more high school libraries are having to ban books that parents deem to be inappropriate. Too often are books actually judged by their covers instead of finding the progressive expressions, unfading plots, and new perspectives the author writes specifically for the readers. Of some of these top banned books, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is among them. This book addresses government control which results in the failure of a society. A world is created where all is attentive, docile, and manufactured.

In the 20th century, human beings have been able to enjoy technological advances as well as the disadvantages of technology that seemed unimaginable in previous centuries. Aldous Huxley’s novel, Brave New World, creates a utopian society that achieves happiness at the expense of humanity by contrasting the use of technology. This is a representation of a society trapped inside a world that is consumed and run by technology rather than individual thinking and feeling. The morals expressed throughout The World State society are not those of our society today, instead, The World State itself focuses around the idea of industry, economy, and technologic growth and improvement, this makes the inhabitants more concerned with what is on the outside instead of the inside. The contrasting world of Huxley makes the reader agree with the viewpoint that technology has created a world of individualism and consumption rather than a world that focuses on the sense of fulfillment. While technology can bring growth, it is also a form of destruction that strips away any form of happiness with psychotropic drugs, genetic engineering, and consumption that neglects a true sense of humanity.

Many would say money is the most influential force in any decision. In the article “Forget money: how I found real worth when I stopped caring about getting rich” by Tom Bilyeu, the author discusses the notion about the role money has in finding happiness. The informational article “The creation of Discontent” by Juliet Schor, follows this idea by explaining that the more luxury items we purchase, the more discontent we become. However, in the contrasting article “In Defense of Consumerism” by Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr., the writer counters by emphasizing the beneficial effects of commerce such as the increase in standard of living. Consumerism is critical to improve quality of life and allows people to find happiness Consumerism is important

In Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World, he creates a utopian society that achieves happiness at the expense of humanity. Though thoroughly offensive to the reader, the world Huxley creates seems almost believable because he fashions it out of societal problems he saw in his lifetime, many of which we still encounter today. Objects and machines replace real emotions, and the result is a streamlined existence that neglects a true sense of humanity. By comparing man's life in the "brave new world" to the machines that surround them, Huxley creates an assembly-line lifestyle in which consumerism and hedonism are paramount, and individuality falls to the wayside.

“Over the past 100 years, scientific breakthroughs and technological innovations have radically changed the human experience” (Cloer & Cloer, 2017). Over these past one hundred years, there have been so many advancements in technology and science. Meaning more access to things in this world. More breakthroughs mean that people are able to produce more goods than people need. Able to produce more things to satisfy people’s needs.

There are many different types of worldviews that that are held among the countless people of this world. Consumerism is one that is very prominent in this day in time. “Consumerism absolutizes consumption by believing that we can find fulfillment by accumulating wealth and everything that comes with it.” (Wilkins &Sanford, 2009). There are many different elements of consumerism I will discuss, along with how this worldview of consumerism compares with the Christian worldview, and lastly, I will express how knowing what the Bible says about consumerism affects my life personally.

Consumerism is the center of American culture. Americans tend to confuse their wants with their needs. With new advances in technology, as well as the help of advertisers, people are provided with easy access to new products that seem essential to their everyday life, even though they have survived this long without them. People cannot live without food, clothing, and shelter. But realistically, according to people's different lifestyles, more than food, clothing, and shelter are needed. Most people need to work to survive. Unless a job is either in their own home, or within walking distance, a means of transportation is needed. Whether it be a vehicle, money for a taxi-cab, or a token for a ride on the subway, money must be spent