A Marxist Study of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
‘’An Marxist study of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley”
Alisha Ghosh
QD Leavis’ essay mentions a statistic, “The investigation made in 1924 into the stocks and issues of urban libraries revealed that while they had 63% of non-fiction works on an average to 37% of fiction, only 22% of non-fiction is issued in comparison 78% of fiction.” This clearly ascertains the fact that a commodity that is in demand at a particular point of time is determined by the class or group that is ‘ruling’ or is in power.
When he wrote Brave New World, published in 1932, Huxley (1894-1963) showed the extent to which his disillusionment with society had influenced him. In his preface to the New Harper edition, he "toyed" with the idea that "human beings are given free will in order to choose between insanity on the one hand and lunacy on the other." It would do good to consider that John the Savage 's rejection of civilization in the World State paralleled D. H. Lawrence 's denunciation of the civilization he knew. Many of the ideas presented in this novel echo many of Huxley 's own apprehension about the effect scientific advancement and technology would have on the individual.
Brave New World is one of Huxley 's most popular novels. The reader is absorbed by Huxley 's vision of a dystopian future based on science and technology. The turn of events during the course of the novel is logical. Huxley "begins at the beginning" with a detailed description of life in the new World State. Huxley is not satisfied simply to present a satire of present and future life. He wishes to let the reader draw his own conclusions and morals from the story. Huxley allows his preaching to project upon the fantasy he has created, and his characters soon become spokesmen for his own ideas and beliefs. Huxley was disheartened by the decadence of society and loathed the behaviour of his class and society in general. “Utilitarianism is an attempt to provide an answer to the practical question ‘What ought
Alisha Ghosh
QD Leavis’ essay mentions a statistic, “The investigation made in 1924 into the stocks and issues of urban libraries revealed that while they had 63% of non-fiction works on an average to 37% of fiction, only 22% of non-fiction is issued in comparison 78% of fiction.” This clearly ascertains the fact that a commodity that is in demand at a particular point of time is determined by the class or group that is ‘ruling’ or is in power.
When he wrote Brave New World, published in 1932, Huxley (1894-1963) showed the extent to which his disillusionment with society had influenced him. In his preface to the New Harper edition, he "toyed" with the idea that "human beings are given free will in order to choose between insanity on the one hand and lunacy on the other." It would do good to consider that John the Savage 's rejection of civilization in the World State paralleled D. H. Lawrence 's denunciation of the civilization he knew. Many of the ideas presented in this novel echo many of Huxley 's own apprehension about the effect scientific advancement and technology would have on the individual.
Brave New World is one of Huxley 's most popular novels. The reader is absorbed by Huxley 's vision of a dystopian future based on science and technology. The turn of events during the course of the novel is logical. Huxley "begins at the beginning" with a detailed description of life in the new World State. Huxley is not satisfied simply to present a satire of present and future life. He wishes to let the reader draw his own conclusions and morals from the story. Huxley allows his preaching to project upon the fantasy he has created, and his characters soon become spokesmen for his own ideas and beliefs. Huxley was disheartened by the decadence of society and loathed the behaviour of his class and society in general. “Utilitarianism is an attempt to provide an answer to the practical question ‘What ought
Bibliography: * Marx’s Capital – An introductory reader, with essays by Venkatesh Athreya, Vijay Prasad, Jayati Ghosh, R. Ramakumar, Prasenjit Bose, T. Jayaraman, Prabhat . Essays referred to – 1. Writing Capital – Vijay Prashad 2. Reading Marx on Technology – T.Jayaraman 3. A Marxist Perspective on the World Economy – Prabhat Patnaik * Fiction and the Reading Public – QD Leavis * http://www.marxists.org/subject/utopian/index.htm * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilitarianism#Karl_Marx.27s_criticisms * www.socialtheory.info/commodity-fetishism