Aldous Huxleys Brave New World critiques the ideology of consumerism.

The essay will

briefly explore Brave New Worlds synopsis. There are key concepts that Huxley uses to
critique consumerism. These concepts are the emphasis on technology, superficial happiness
and morals. These concepts will be explored to depict an alternative way of thinking in
comparison to the U.S.As 1932 consumerist ideology. It will become clear from the concepts
that Huxley is critiquing an ideology and not an idea and that he offers only alternate ways of
thinking rather than wronging the society.

Brave New World is a dystopian novel by Aldous Huxley first published in 1932. The story
follows the lives of people living within a society that is controlled by an all-powerful
government. The government controls reproduction where babies are now born in test-tube
batches because of technological advancements. The population is pre-conditioned and
brainwashed from birth into one of five distinct castes: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, or
Epsilon. The five castes is a hierarchal system where Alphas, who are at the top, do high
intelligence work like build research facilities. From there the embryos are genetically altered
to be less mentally and physically capable to fit into the lesser castes. The main chunk of the
story involves the interaction between three protagonists Lenina and Barnard who are both
Alphas and John who lives in a separated part of the world with different values called the
Reservation.

Brave New World is a critique in the form of satire of the consumerist ideology. Consumerism
can be defined as the shared social belief that personal well-being and happiness is dependent
on a large level of personal consumption and the acquisition of material goods (2009). The
consumerist society devotes time, energy and resources in the act of consuming (2009).
Therefore, the ideology influences aspects of ones life such as family, sex and the view of

happiness. Consumerism is an ideology because it is a set way of thinking that has become
unconscious by a large number of people (Emerald, 2004). Huxley wrote brave New World as
an example of what the U.S.A, which is heavily influenced by consumerism, could become in
the future with the ideologys values (Emerald, 2004). Therefore, the text is critical of
consumerism because it presents an extreme version of Huxleys society and the aspects of
life the ideology influences.

The concept that underpins Brave New World is the push for technological advancement. The
society is controlled and even created to apply to the needs of technological achievement.
People are genetically altered to perform certain duties within the society. The emphasis on
technology is best seen in the way years are recorded. Instead of using the B.C/A.C
methodology, the government has imposed the name of Henry Ford, the 20 th

Page 1

century engineer, from when he created the technological achievement of the

Ford engine to record time. By replacing the mystical figure of God with a physical man
removes any anxiety or quarrels about religion by replacing religion with technology. This
directly relates to the consumerist ideology as it implies the need to better oneself by
acquiring better things. Religion emphasizes that God has predestined ones life and no
amount of things will compare to reaching God.

It is important to note that the government is focused on technological advancement and not
science exploration. The ideological view of technology directly challenges the concept of
happiness within a consumerist society. Happiness in Brave New World is rarely synonymous
with truth. Due to fetal and hypnopaedic conditioning, the population is unconsciously
triggered into registering certain things with happiness. Technological advancements have
been made to create a superficial, shallow world of happiness for the population. Another

example of this is by the use of the drug called soma. The superficial happiness of soma is
best described by the quote, "why you don't take soma when you have these dreadful ideas of
yours. You'd forget all about them. And instead of feeling miserable, you'd be jolly. So jolly,
(Huxley, 1932). This type of thinking by Lenina was preconditioned to link having bad
thoughts with taking soma to feel jolly. Another quote that describes the power soma has over
the people is, Was and will make me ill, I take a gram and only am, (Huxley, 1932). Also
preconditioned, this response depicts the hedonistic response to acquiring superficial
happiness. It encourages not thinking about the past or the future but acquiring happiness in
the present.

The most significant concept that is influenced by the consumerist ideology is morality. As
consumerism encourages self-satisfaction as the only way to achieve happiness, morality on
sex and family is based on individual feelings of ecstasy. The 1932 consumerist societys
moral view on sex has been flipped in Brave New World. For example, children are
encouraged to commence erotic play as soon as possible, sexual harassment

Page 2

is smiled upon and monogamy is a laughable and foreign concept. To

Huxleys society, the view on morality in Brave New World is immoral and even criminal.
However, the morality also aligns with the hedonistic thinking of consumerism.

Brave New World offers alternatives to the structure of society under a consumerist ideology.
Huxley uses the structure of his society in 1932 as a platform to progress and emphasize
consumerism in a future state. Reading Brave New Worlds view on morality and life in 1932
or even in the early 21st century may confront many readers. The view of family structure has
completely changed from 1932 to Brave New Worlds society yet both are consumerist
societies. Being born in batches and genetically altered, people in Brave New World consider

the concept of natural birth inefficient. Therefore, they also find the concept of mothers,
fathers and children strange and illogical. Whilst consumerism is abundant, the example
indicates that the society in 1932 had different ideologies that determine certain aspects of
society. Therefore, the society in Brave New World offers an alternative as it is run solely on a
consumerist ideology.

In conclusion, Aldous Huxleys Brave New World clearly critiques the ideology of
consumerism. From Brave New Worlds synopsis and the key concepts that Huxley used to
critique consumerism, the text depicts an alternate way of thinking. The concepts such as the
emphasis on technology, superficial happiness and morals depict an alternative way of
thinking that relies completely on a consumerist way of thinking. It is clear from the concepts
that Huxley is critiquing an ideology and not an idea and that he offered only alternate ways
of thinking rather than wronging the society in 1932. I learned from my feedback to identify
and to make a clear distinction between the concepts that were formed
to critique aspects of the ideology. The feedback helped me with the
structure of the essay and that helped interlink the concepts together.

Page 3

References
Page 4

Dwyer, R. (2007). Expanding Homes and Increasing

Inequalities:USHousingDevelopmentandtheResidentialSegregationofthe
Affluent.

Social Problems,

54, 2346. Retrieved from

https://www.ssc.wisc.edu/~wright/ContemporaryAmericanSociety/Chapter
%207%20%20consumerism%20%20Norton%20August.pdf
Emerald,N.(2009).Consumerism,Nature,andtheHumanSpirit.MasterOfNatural
Resources,

1(3),

15.

Retrieved

from

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd12272004
133514/unrestricted/capstonefinal112904.pdf
Huxley,A.(1932).Bravenewworld.GardenCity,N.Y.:Doubleday,Doran&Co.

CURTIN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Faculty of Humanities

ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET

To be attached to all assignments
(ALL SECTIONS MUST BE COMPLETED)

STUDENT NAME:Ryan Johnson..................

STUDENT ID: 17755274
UNIT NAME AND NUMBER:Making
Meanings
DUE DATE:25/9/15.
WORD COUNT:1186..
TUTORIAL DAY AND TIME:Wed 10am.............
TUTORS NAME:

Francais..

IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOUR TUTORS NAME IS ON ALL SUBMITTED ASSIGNMENTS

DECLARATION:
I declare that I have retained a copy of this assignment.
I have read and understood Curtin University policies on Plagiarism and
Copyright and declare that this assignment complies with these policies.
I declare that this assignment is my own work and has not been submitted
previously in any form for assessment.