The Current Reality: Melting of Orwell and Huxley

Human beings are characterised by their constant desire to know what’s growing in tomorrow’s womb. People have been trying to predict the future, and in this attempt, vocations of astrology and horoscopes have developed. Religious groups have been referencing their ancient records to understand the future.

Moving on the same trajectory, two literary giants tried to estimate the human society of the future. Almost a decade ago, in 1931, Aldous Huxley attempted to present a vision of the future society that then appeared to be nothing more than a fanciful imagination of a dystopian world. A world that has fully overcome all its pains but is still lacking something so substantial that it feels like a dystopia.

Around two decades later, in 1949, George Orwell came up with his own idea of a distant future defined by political totalitarianism and invariant surveillance. Here, in order to control the masses, the boss is using external forces to keep all in control. Obedience to the chief is non-negotiable.

When we examine the current reality, we would be more than surprised by how accurately both predicted the future, even though they presented totally different pictures and distinctly different social norms. I’ll try to give a peek into the world as conceived by both the thinkers, and you have to see where we stand as far as the contemporary actuality is concerned.

Mr Huxley showcased a world so advanced in its scientific endeavours that there is no grief or pain left. There are just goodies and goodies. People just have to enjoy. There is proper class and caste demarcation, but even the lower castes have been so conditioned as to be happy in all situations. There are just beautiful and attractive individuals without any physical deformities. All are in excellent health and shape. There is no want of financial or technological systems. Almost everything desired is available. People just have to satiate their senses. No one is expected to think beyond the senses, and the commune is just for everyone. No individual is bound to anyone. Meaning, everything is just casual. Whenever one feels like things are not going as desired, just have Soma rasa and forget all.

The cost to be paid is the annihilation of critical thinking and going off the mark. All means of pleasure are provided to everyone at all times. What the system expects of its masses is to be engrossed in constant entertainment and be indistinguishable without any question.

Next, have a glimpse of the world as imagined by Mr Orwell. The government at the helm has put the masses under surveillance. There is nothing such as private life or privacy. Every movement of the mass is being minutely tracked, and nothing can be concealed from the government. History is rewritten, and people are supposed to speak a particular language. People have to be fully loyal to Big Brother without any trace of individuality. There cannot be any individual emotion or sex-based relation.

There are certain grounds on which both thinkers provide a similar picture. For instance, erasure of historical facts and creation of new history and a godhead or Ford/Big Brother; rearing of a homogenous society; complete control over analytical thinking; and constant indulgence in something. The memory of the masses is manipulated, and through state-run machinery, people are conditioned to be totally submitted to the system.

Now, coming to our current reality, I’ll show you some patterns, and you can connect them with the picture presented by the aforementioned thinkers. You can observe alcohol outlets at almost every corner of the market, overrunning demands. Youths are entangled in casual relationships with ever-evolving arrangements like situationships, hook-ups, one-night stands, ghosting, breadcrumbing, benching, orbiting and what not. Most of us are solely concerned with physical looks and unconcerned with substance. With substance, I am reminded of the rising cases of substance abuse. Another significant pattern signalling the rising homogeneity of the masses is the concept of “trending”. Lost in the intoxication of social media, one may experience a delusion from reality.

Discussing the external forces on part of the government, I can talk of certain mechanisms which have been brought out with the intention of easing our lives, but their strike on privacy and individual rights can’t be ignored. We are ourselves 24/7 under the gaze of CCTVs; the smartphones and media houses are required to collect and share the data with the government as and when demanded. Our digital footprints are virtually unerasable. This case needs to underscore how masses are intoxicated with particular ideologies that deprive them of critical thinking. The rewriting of history books and the promotion of everything ONE demand a closer and more cautious look.

At last, I’ll appeal to all to go through “Brave New World” and “1984” at least once. Volumes like these make us think and guard our individuality. If we don’t save ourselves from the rising deluding practices, we’ll lose ourselves and the essence of which we are representatives. We lose our identity when we become just a number without any individuality. We have to look at the pattern and wake up before falling into dystopia.