Page 3 of 5 Merino 1 Zach Merino Mr. Myette ERWC 2 23 March 2023 The Price of Social Stability Aldous Huxley’s 1932 dystopian novel Brave New World conveys the idea that social stability comes at a steep price. Huxley, a British writer in the early to mid 1900s, envisioned a world filled with ‘pleasant vices’ that essentially subdue the populace into conformity and stability, and as a result the people religiously follow their World Government’s motto of “Community, Identity, Stability.” This hefty price that these people must concede is not worth it, as it sacrifices key pieces of humanity while creating a void by removing true fulfillment and emotional connections between people. Huxley uses two heavily contrasting characters to display …show more content…
This price Helmholtz has paid, just like every other human on the planet, removes them from their self- fulfillment. Helmholtz is one of the few in this world to become self-aware that all the noise around him, all the futuristic games and activities, all the sex in the world, simply everything their planet can offer him is still not enough. These two characters demonstrate what the experience of real-world people would be like within a world that has this perfect social stability and the missing pieces that are the price you must pay for a seemingly perfect life. Furthermore, a world of social stability destroys the things that make humanity so unique. Throughout history, humans have developed and changed significantly, through our philosophy, culture, art, religion and innovations. Their place in a perfectly stable world? Nonexistent, in fact history is completely rewritten in Huxley’s example of a socially stable world, removing any remnants of humanity. In the real world every person has their own distinct journey, what …show more content…
So, the World State would do anything to get rid of the threat that ruins their “perfect” society they created, even if it meant getting rid of its citizens. While, in the world of a high-tech society, once social media trends become popular, everyone tends to follow or become the trend at the current moment. According to an online source, Effectiviology.com, researchers would call this as the bandwagon effect, it “causes people to think or act a certain way if they believe that others are doing the same”. The trends that social media created became the new norm, the “new societal rule” that everyone must follow. If people who deviates the new norm, they would be a “threat” to society, and according to the National Library of Medicine they would “ tend to elicit negative responses...including unfavorable social perceptions, negative emotions, scolding, gossip, and punishment” would lead to being “exiled” from society. The sacrifices of people or individuality aren’t worth the exchange for “social stability” or the opinions of society has chosen to become the “normal.” Sacrificing individuality, every individual would have no personal happiness for