Brave New World: Legitimate Roles Of Government

Legitimate roles of government
Eddie Kirchoff
Like in 1984, Brave new world shows the dangers of letting the government take too much control over our daily lives. Where a good government will leave its citizens alone to live their own lives. What makes the New World Sate different from brutal totalitarian regimes like those in our history and in 1984 is that the government feeds on the weaknesses of human nature. This makes citizens give away their freedom for a false sense of happiness and security.

First is the use of technology by the New World Order to manipulate the lives of citizens from their very own conception. The use of cloning to create the same person over and over again for a predetermined position in life is completely against the natural order of humans. A legitimate role of government would be to let people have children as they see fit and to allow individuals to set their own destinies. Also to sterilize people based on a caste system is completely against the human rights laws of today.

Another way the government overstepped its bounds is the replacement of truth for happiness. While they use science for control its suppressed when many want to truly learn about real happiness or bad realities of life. While a government should stride to make citizens happy if they suppress
the truth some will be left empty.
All this is capable by the government manipulation of happiness by the use of soma, sex and consumerism.
Instead of real love and connection the government uses sex to drive away emotion to create a more stable society. However this can lead to many wanting more like in the case of John and Lenina they both want different things and it leads to conflict and no true happiness. Soma also is a short term solution to deeper long term issues that the government doesn't want you to deal with. A legitimate government would be better of encouraging real love and to truly deal with your problems. If the government made everyone fake happiness there would be no true
good.
Overall the role of government should be to protect its citizens and to ensure that their freedoms to live life are secure. If the government overstepped its bounds eventually it will try to take the humanity out of humans turn them into machines.
Passage analysis
Chapter 17
“All right then," said the savage defiantly, I'm claiming the right to be unhappy."
"Not to mention the right to grow old and ugly and impotent; the right to have syphilis and cancer; the right to have too little to eat, the right to be lousy; the right to live in constant apprehension of what may happen tomorrow; the right to catch typhoid; the right to be tortured by unspeakable pains of every kind."
There was a long silence.
"I claim them all," said the Savage at last.

Huxley is showing that some cannot be corrupted. Also that freedom and humanity is greater than artificial happiness. He shows this by showing the bad side of John’s decision to be free and live what was once a normal life.
He repeats the word “the right” to show that this should be valued highly to make your own decisions about your life. He then has John claim all effects of his decision to show that he is committed to live as a human and not a pawn of society. Thus propelling him down the path towards his suicide by accepting the truth of his life and not stimulating himself with the fake happiness of the world around him.