Brave New World Debate – Social Conditioning
“Community, Identity, and Stability”. It maintains the society. It maintains the world and above all, it maintains stability. It is the prevalent motto throughout the novel. Enforcing these morals enables the World State to achieve the primary goals of its utopia. The technological powers of social conditioning stimulate the control and obedience of the society. Accordingly, controllable mechanisms do improve social stability. Through biological engineering, the clones are decanted to work the same jobs to achieve the goal of identity in the slogan: “Community, Stability, and Identity”. Since these clones are identical to each other, there is no conflict, jealousy, or segregation because they are decanted from the same egg. The mass production of ninety-six identical twins per egg results in more workers and consumers, therefore, increasing the economy for stability.
The World State has control over the work productivity for the law of supply and demand as consumerism is a fundamental principle in the stability of the economy. Without a certain caste, the society cannot operate in the future because teamwork makes the dream work in building the ideal utopia. Without Epsilons, who will make the products for consumption? If there are no Epsilons, the economy declines, thus, it is crucial (big problem) when a caste is removed as each caste is conditioned to do their own job. Mustapha Mond tells John, “A society of Alphas couldn’t fail to be unstable and miserable… An Alpha-decanted, Alpha-conditioned man would go mad if he had to do Epsilon Semi-Moron work…”. Through this example, a society of simply Alphas results in competition and rivalry because each Alpha is conditioned to be the superior caste. This conflict in-between castes leads to instability and even war. The Nine Years’ War was created in the past because of conflicts between countries. It caused physical damage against cities and it also led to the Great Economic Collapse. Without the values of the World State leaders, the world would have been in conflict for centuries because free will prompted the citizens to resistance.
How will society continue to be stable if there are wars and conflict? The key process to achieve the ideal utopia is through hypnopaedia. It conditions the citizens to love their jobs and their lives - to appreciate what they are given such as housing, clothing, and recreational activities. Citizens are conditioned to accept their predestined lives and to worship their caste more than the other castes. This is taught through sleep-teaching as it recites: “Alpha children wear grey. They work much harder than we do, because they’re so frightfully clever. I’m really awfully glad I’m a Beta, because I don’t work so hard. And then we are much better than the Gammas and Deltas…”. Without the conflict of feeling inferior to other castes in the community, it results in happiness and harmony within the castes, contrasting to how John is isolated from the community in the Savage Reservation. It is recognized throughout Brave New World that John acknowledges his loneliness when he says, “If one’s different, one’s bound to be lonely” (). Although John was born and raised in the Reservation, he is rejected because the citizens of the Reservation have the ability to judge. He is rejected because he is different. He is rejected because the community is given immoral free will. Thus, with the power of hypnopaedia, it undoubtedly contributes to the perfection of the world, unlike the disharmony of the Reservation.
Ultimately, social conditioning proves to be the absolute process in achieving the perfect utopia compared to the corrupt free will in the Savage Reservation. With conformity, the society can operate in a stable manner rather than in a world of disaster.
