This short essay was written in response to a reader, who like myself in our younger years, at first thought Aldous had written the character of John as a sort of hero figure, however, we now realise that that was not his intention, or at least, that this was an old hero archetype that Aldous wished to see destroyed. These are my thoughts on how I came to this conclusion.
I have thought much recently about the brief debate that Orwell and Huxley had during the second half of 1949, just a few months before Orwell’s death. They admired each others work, but Huxley wrote to Orwell telling him that his dystopian vision was, in essence, ‘too much work’, that brutal totalitarian dictatorships are simply not sustainable but they collapse in on themselves. They consume too much energy. When I heard Yuval Noah Harari say that his view of the proletariat, ultimately the useless eaters that do not contribute to society because they can’t(his view), was that the only solution was to keep them occupied “with drugs and computer games”.Pure Huxley there. It would appear that our modern and largely unavailable(as opposed to invisible) overlords share Huxley’s worldview. The Great Reset is a Huxleyan transformation, at least it is an attempt at it. But we know that Orwellian tactics are still part of the toolbox, and can and will be used as necessary.
Cynthia we have all in our younger years and through life fall for sophistry it's path of life and the process of learning... well in my opinion. The beauty of having others to re-calibrate our compass a blessing. Not sure about others but for me I see it as standing corrected takes humility and broaden the vision of path and direction?! Thank you for another re-calibrator!
I remember having this feeling exactly when reading the book that Aldous wasn't exactly portraying John as a hero figure, even before learning of the context of the Huxley family and how Aldous saw his work. Great write-up!
Splendid!
I have thought much recently about the brief debate that Orwell and Huxley had during the second half of 1949, just a few months before Orwell’s death. They admired each others work, but Huxley wrote to Orwell telling him that his dystopian vision was, in essence, ‘too much work’, that brutal totalitarian dictatorships are simply not sustainable but they collapse in on themselves. They consume too much energy. When I heard Yuval Noah Harari say that his view of the proletariat, ultimately the useless eaters that do not contribute to society because they can’t(his view), was that the only solution was to keep them occupied “with drugs and computer games”.Pure Huxley there. It would appear that our modern and largely unavailable(as opposed to invisible) overlords share Huxley’s worldview. The Great Reset is a Huxleyan transformation, at least it is an attempt at it. But we know that Orwellian tactics are still part of the toolbox, and can and will be used as necessary.
Cynthia we have all in our younger years and through life fall for sophistry it's path of life and the process of learning... well in my opinion. The beauty of having others to re-calibrate our compass a blessing. Not sure about others but for me I see it as standing corrected takes humility and broaden the vision of path and direction?! Thank you for another re-calibrator!
I think I'll re-read that book. Thanks Cynthia
I remember having this feeling exactly when reading the book that Aldous wasn't exactly portraying John as a hero figure, even before learning of the context of the Huxley family and how Aldous saw his work. Great write-up!