I always thought Huxley's novel to be superior in both the quality of the writing and the concept. However, we now find ourselves living in a world where both have come true simultaneously. Governments have manufactured consent to an absurd level and now the "boot on the face" has been added as good measure. Bleak times, indeed.
I definitely enjoy both books, with a slight preference toward 1984. Huxley may very well be right, though. The powers that be definitely will use sex and the conditioning of little kids for the purposes of shaping their minds and therefore, society of course. Great post, though. That's awesome that the letter is still around.
Super article Shaun and I wasn’t aware of that particular letter from Huxley.
There were a number of influences on 1984.
My book Darkness in 1984 reimagines a little known visit to see Arthur Koestler.
Wales, Christmas 1945. George Orwell, grieving and newly widowed, arrives with his infant son at a remote cottage in Blaenau Ffestiniog to stay with fellow writer and revolutionary, Arthur Koestler. Snow blankets the mountains. War haunts their memories. And between them, the seeds of 1984 begin to grow.
Well, Huxley certainly writes like an Eton professor. I wonder what these guys would think of the state of the world now. I see that Huxley was writing from Wrightwood, CA. If that's the same town in the San Bernardino mountains that I know of, I can't imagine how he'd end up there. There's not too much now, and probably great solitude in 1949.
As I continue to write my political satire, Gulliver's Travels: The Broligarchy, I'm often thinking of both Huxley and Orwell, while staring ashamed and horrified at what is happening in America today. I'm please to participate in any number of protests, sit-ins and strikes, but as an author myself, I find that writing about this is one of the best ways to put my talents to good use.
I think Huxley had a lot of it correct -- bread and circuses. Americans -- and as an American, I will totally put a foot in our collective asses -- have been out to lunch for the better part of the last 25 years, simply missing out on everything that's led to this point. We got comfortable, and everyone forgot that democracy is a participation sport. As consumers, we outsourced our civic responsibilities to the professional political class and sought leisure. We focused inward, building our families and recreating our homes with endless trips to Home Depot, all while ignoring the consolidation of power by the wealthy. And now, we're shifting towards Orwell, having been lulled into a false sense of oblivion. The question is whether or not we're willing to stand up now and stop it.
I get your question whether or not we are willing to stand up now and stop it but am not sure it's that straightforward. What are we stopping, who are we stopping, how are we stopping it or them.
"Within the next generation I believe that the world’s rulers will discover that infant conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging and kicking them into obedience."
We're already here. Exhibit A: Ibram X Kendi's "Anti-Racist Baby." Indoctrinate em young, pre-consciousness, pre-verbal.
I'm afraid we've found ourselves in a perfect storm where Huxley is both right and wrong.
Huxley both right and wrong... How so?
I always thought Huxley's novel to be superior in both the quality of the writing and the concept. However, we now find ourselves living in a world where both have come true simultaneously. Governments have manufactured consent to an absurd level and now the "boot on the face" has been added as good measure. Bleak times, indeed.
And using iPhones which help our willingness to obey.
The Orwell-Huxley argument shown graphically:
https://www.highexistence.com/amusing-ourselves-to-death-huxley-vs-orwell/
I definitely enjoy both books, with a slight preference toward 1984. Huxley may very well be right, though. The powers that be definitely will use sex and the conditioning of little kids for the purposes of shaping their minds and therefore, society of course. Great post, though. That's awesome that the letter is still around.
Agree. We see it already on the Left re Ibram X. Kendi's "Anti-Racist Baby" book, etc. Orwell and contemporary society: https://michaelmohr.substack.com/p/george-orwells-politics-and-the-english-890
I wrote a comparison of the two novels a few months back. If you're interested ...
https://jimgeschke.substack.com/p/orwell-vs-huxley
Check this out: https://michaelmohr.substack.com/p/george-orwells-politics-and-the-english-890
I will.
Super article Shaun and I wasn’t aware of that particular letter from Huxley.
There were a number of influences on 1984.
My book Darkness in 1984 reimagines a little known visit to see Arthur Koestler.
Wales, Christmas 1945. George Orwell, grieving and newly widowed, arrives with his infant son at a remote cottage in Blaenau Ffestiniog to stay with fellow writer and revolutionary, Arthur Koestler. Snow blankets the mountains. War haunts their memories. And between them, the seeds of 1984 begin to grow.
https://paulwbmarsden.substack.com/p/before-1984-was-fiction-it-was-a?r=206izj&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=audio-player
Interesting!
Well, Huxley certainly writes like an Eton professor. I wonder what these guys would think of the state of the world now. I see that Huxley was writing from Wrightwood, CA. If that's the same town in the San Bernardino mountains that I know of, I can't imagine how he'd end up there. There's not too much now, and probably great solitude in 1949.
Yeah: In my opinion Orwell was the better prose writer in terms of The Novel form. Both men were highly intelligent.
As I continue to write my political satire, Gulliver's Travels: The Broligarchy, I'm often thinking of both Huxley and Orwell, while staring ashamed and horrified at what is happening in America today. I'm please to participate in any number of protests, sit-ins and strikes, but as an author myself, I find that writing about this is one of the best ways to put my talents to good use.
https://readingwritingrevolution.substack.com/s/gullivers-travels
Love the title of your satire :)
And... What do you make of Huxley's position?
I think Huxley had a lot of it correct -- bread and circuses. Americans -- and as an American, I will totally put a foot in our collective asses -- have been out to lunch for the better part of the last 25 years, simply missing out on everything that's led to this point. We got comfortable, and everyone forgot that democracy is a participation sport. As consumers, we outsourced our civic responsibilities to the professional political class and sought leisure. We focused inward, building our families and recreating our homes with endless trips to Home Depot, all while ignoring the consolidation of power by the wealthy. And now, we're shifting towards Orwell, having been lulled into a false sense of oblivion. The question is whether or not we're willing to stand up now and stop it.
I get your question whether or not we are willing to stand up now and stop it but am not sure it's that straightforward. What are we stopping, who are we stopping, how are we stopping it or them.
"Within the next generation I believe that the world’s rulers will discover that infant conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging and kicking them into obedience."
We're already here. Exhibit A: Ibram X Kendi's "Anti-Racist Baby." Indoctrinate em young, pre-consciousness, pre-verbal.
Deep dive on Orwell and contemporary life in America: https://michaelmohr.substack.com/p/george-orwells-politics-and-the-english-890