There were a few similarities between modern day American society and Brave New World. The one that stuck out the most was that each civilization had obvious social classes. Even though the means of acquiring those classes were different they were still prominent in both cases. In America there is a sure difference between the ultra wealthy, the middle class, and the lower class. The line between middle class and higher class is not as clearly defined as the lower class due to the fact that the middle class can better identify with the higher class. In both societies the rigid class structure helps to keep economy flowing and consumerism active.
Another similarity I saw was the superiority of intelligence. In both America and Brave New World being educated and using your knowledge is highly looked upon. Doctors, lawyers, and other professions that require large amounts of education are highly respected and paid for. In Brave New World those who were considered Alphas did not socialize with those of the "lower class" for fear of losing the edge of intelligence. In both civilizations those who are intelligent seems to have better living conditions, opportunities, and wealth. This has a direct correlation in America with the fact that it takes work and skill to be accepted in any practice or law firm.
The third similarity was the conditioning aspect in both societies. In America most of our conditioning comes from parental values and morality. In Brave New World it is science based and strict conditioned responses. In America and Brave New World the concepts behind conditioning are the same. The government (and your parents) are trying to teach you to lead your own life and benefit the community in some way. Although in Brave New World the responses seem over structured and belligerent they are still trying to condition people who will follow the rules and laws. Similar to American society, parents try to condition and teach their children the right way to think and act while still following the rules of a diverse and peaceful world.
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7 comments:
nice...i didn't even think about different wealth classes in our society
Kendra stole my comment. I like your conditing argument though. It's weird to think that we too are conditioned.
I somewhat disagreed with what you said about how the wealthy class doesn't associate with the lower class's. Much of the wealthy class donates portions of there time and money to help out those less fortunate.
I disagree that using your knowledge is highly regarded in the Brave New World. If it was they would allow free thought and speech.
Is there really that much of a class difference in America? I don't think that most people could easily classify even the people in our school into high middle and low classes.
Sure, we've got social classes but ours are fluid while the ones in BNW are very rigid. There are also different intersections in society that contribute to the persons class in America (race, family status, age, income, living conditions, a lot of stuff), but in BNW the people are just defined by their name (Alpha, Gamma, etc.). It seems harder to decide in America what class someone is in.
I totally diagree with you about the conditioning. I think BNW and America diverge immensely in the way that conditioning happens in the society. I understand that you are talking about the goal of the conditioning being to create a good person, but I really think its silly to use that as a point of comparison between the two.
Excellent. Well-developed ideas, Megan!
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