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You Aren’t As Free As You Think

We all have our share of trials. We all have burdens. But thankfully, we don’t have nearly as many as our ancestors did. Most of our problems are small ones— first-world problems. We have more access to good food, clean water, shelter, and entertainment than anyone else. If we step back from our daily stress and struggle, we realize that we live in what almost seems to be a utopian-level existence. But luxury has a variable effect on people. It doesn’t discriminate by race, gender, or any other unimportant factor, but its impact on people depends on how they react. And, naturally, the majority of our population reacts poorly. 

You don’t need some iron-fisted ruler or a terror-hungry extremist to lose your freedom. Not all tyranny is hard power. Of course, we like to think that we’re free. We like to perceive ourselves as “in control.” Of course, nothing says “Freedom” like waves of people self-administering hundreds of dopamine hits while scrolling for hours on Instagram. Nothing says “Freedom” like the marketing on the side of Burger King: “You know you want it,” “You deserve to treat yourself,” with lines of weak, sullen zombies waiting for their overly sized, overly addictive meals to thrill their tongues. Nothing says “Freedom,” like almost every man in America secretly spending hours in shameful searches on Porn Hub. You are losing your freedom, and it’s happening in a predicted fashion.

Brave New World

In 1932, Aldous Huxley wrote “Brave New World.” It is an undervalued work, especially in our day and age. When most people think of Dystopian Novels from the 20th century, they think of George Orwell and his deep-cutting novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four.” But while Orwell warned against Totalitarianism and illustrated the misery it could bring the world, Huxley’s novel explores the idea of individual freedom and what it really means to be free. 

The dystopia Huxley writes about is called the “World State.” The World State artificially breeds its citizens. It predetermines its peoples’ social classes by purposefully stunting certain citizens’ growth while they incubate—classic dystopian government behavior. But the World State isn’t interested in keeping its people dejected and miserable. In fact, they strive to make their people as happy as possible. And they’re pretty successful. Their citizens are very happy, content with whatever social class they happen to be a part of, and satisfied with how their government treats them. To the citizens of the World State, it’s like a Utopia. 

One of the principal sources of their happiness is a sort of “miracle drug” called Soma. It causes euphoria with no hangover. It provides the people in Brave New World with the best experience the world has to offer. The World State teaches its citizens the rhyme “a gramme is worth more than a damn.” Soma will release you from all of your problems. All citizens of the World State have an escape from negative emotion at any place, at any time. And they feel free from reality. 

The World State also teaches that “Everyone belongs to everyone else.” All of the women are either on birth control or sterilized to pursue promiscuity as conveniently as possible. The government encourages everyone to have sex with everyone that they want and everyone that wants them. Sex is recreational. The World State frees its people from responsibility. Free from commitment.

A Slave to Happiness

Huxley must have had a time machine to visit the 21st century. His government is called the World State, but he might as well be writing about Americans in the 21st century. Constantly chasing highs, fleeing the clutches of responsibility. We’re Free! Free from commitment, pain, hard work, reality. 

But of course, we aren’t free. We are only a slave to something much worse than responsibility or commitment. Like the characters in Brave New World, we can hardly function in society without multiple dopamine crutches – social media, nicotine, alcohol, pornography – supporting us emotionally. What tight shackles we have bound ourselves to! How miserable we are without constant highs! What type of “freedom” is that? What does this “freedom” help us accomplish? Does this “freedom” make us stronger? Smarter? More productive? Wealthier? 

Happier? 

What a lie. 

We all know this. We get intense happiness from social media, from food, from pornography, from drugs. We all know how fleeting it is. We all know the spiral people tumble down trying to chase these highs. Never being satisfied, no high as good as the last. We are spending MORE time on social media, eating MORE food, finding MORE intense porn, and taking MORE potent drugs. These things will consume us, making us a slave to “happiness.” 

Aldous Huxley hit the nail on the head. If you haven’t read Brave New World yet, I encourage you to give it a go. Aside from his scarily accurate depiction of our society, he has an easy writing style and thoughtful insights into human nature. And even though Brave New World hasn’t been the most popular dystopian novel in the past, it might be one of the most relevant to us right now. Don’t fall victim to the soft powers of our age. Don’t think that all of the media, all of the dopamine, and all of the sex have no impact on you. Be watchful, and heed Huxley’s warnings. Don’t lose your freedom.

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Works Cited

Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. HarperCollins, 2017.