Wednesday, 21 September 2011

• Orgy Porgy

  
  I'm a literary pear. Unlike those stupid apples, I believe in reading, and in bettering one's self. A while back I read Brave New World by Aldous Huxely, and then promptly put it out of my mind in favor of watching Netflix. I love Netflix. Anyway, I hadn't thought about the novel in a while until it was brought to my attention again by a Datingish article. Now, I know what you're thinking, and yes, I'm as amazed as you are that Datingish made a literary reference to anything more wordy than an Archie Magazine. Just kidding, I love you guys, Datingish editors!

  The author of the article claimed that the society of Brave New World was a ridiculous one. Because sex had been changed to an everyday, common-place interaction with no negative consequences or stigmas, and because committed monogamous relationships had disappeared, the author argued that what replaced it was "sad and empty".

  They are, of course, wrong.

  The author admits that everybody in that society seemed happy. I'm not sure why they're arguing that equals sad and empty, frankly. It seems just the opposite to me. You know what seems sad and empty? Life in a society riddled by debt. Unemployed, divorced, and sexually frustrated. I see no reason to believe that humans find more innate satisfaction in monogamy. In fact, I think for most people monogamy is inappropriate, and I think the overall failure of what is effectively societally enforced monogamy has been demonstrated pretty effectively by high divorce rates. I don't think this is what humans are "naturally" (or even biblically) "supposed" to be. It's a convenient arrangement that helps both the society maintain social order, and the monogamous couple support each other in difficult times. A good marriage is a business arrangement first. That's why Brave New World is actually a better form of society - it not only removes the difficult times monogamy helps deal with, but it also allows humans to engage in their natural instincts without harm or foul.

  Happiness in Brave New World came from two things:

  Role in society: because people were bred for specific purposes, and then trained/inculcated further after birth, there was no question of what to "do" with one's life. This afforded an immense degree of satisfaction. Without having to worry about the meaning of life, one's place in the world and society, etc, there's no stress. There's no worry about unemployment, about finding one's self, about looking for purpose.

  Free will is a tenuous concept anyway, and most people make a botched job of the choices they're given in life. In Brave New World, people always know the job they do is one they are perfectly suited for, and can do well. I think one of the greatest ways to find happiness in life is doing something you're really good at, and doing it really well. You can't beat the satisfaction that gives. This is ensured in this theoretical world.

  
  

  Removal of negative emotion sources: One of the main ideas of the society in the novel is that unhappiness comes from the space between the creation of a desire and the fulfillment of a desire. So, there's constant instant gratification. Nothing goes wrong, and nothing is unfulfilled. Everybody gets what they want, all the time (except, again, for a few bugs in the system like Bernard).

  Now, a major part of this is sexual, and related to relationships. Sexual pleasure with no consequences at all (not only no STDs, unwanted pregnancies, but also no social stigma, no judging, etc) I think would make a heck of a lot of people happy. There's really no need for the support a monogamous relationship is designed to create - you don't need emotional support, because there's nothing around that makes you unhappy. You don't need financial support, because you have a guaranteed job you're perfect for. You don't need support raising children, because that's done in centers.

  I know that Brave New World is supposed to be dystopic, but frankly, I think the only reason why we find it so is because we've been societized to perceive foreign societies as worse than our own. Different is automatically bad. A reasoned look at the World State makes it seem like a pretty good system in most regards. There's no evidence to suggest that most of the inhabitants are unhappy. On the other hand, there's quite a lot of evidence to support the suggestion that most of the inhabitants of our current society are unhappy.

  Failed relationships and marriages, enormous national and personal debt, large numbers of unemployed people who cannot support themselves or maintain households, vast quantities of the population on anti-depression and anti-anxiety medication... I don't see any reason to believe what we've got now works any better (or really, as well as) Brave New World.

  In fact, I think America would do well to work toward a goal where the future set out in Brave New World can become our future. Look at the person to your right, and then look at the person to your left. You could be having sex with both of them right now. You deserve this, and so do they.

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