The Caste System, American Consumerism, and Fascist Italy inside Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World
By Skylor Matchett
In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley describes and critiques a utopian society that is modeled on societies he encountered throughout his travels. His travels first began in 1921 when he moved to Fascist Italy; a militarized country with a totalitarian government ruled by Benito Mussolini. Huxley then left Italy and traveled to India and encountered the Caste System which divided India’s population into a rigid social hierarchy based off of heredity and race. After his time in India, Huxley crossed the Atlantic and landed on the west coast of the United States. While in the U.S, Huxley saw the lavish lifestyles Americans led and how their existence seemed based off of consumerism, always consuming without thinking about conservation or consequences. He integrated aspects of India’s caste system, the wide acceptance of totalitarianism control in Fascist Italy, and the influence of consumerism on American culture into his novel to act as social critiques of these societies by satirically portraying a dystopian world as a “Utopia”.
In Brave New World, society is completely controlled by their government, the leader of which being Mustapha Mond. His duty is to do what’s “best” for the World State which often times contradicts what would be morally right. Mustapha Mond and his position controlling the people of the World State in their best interests is a reference to Mussolini and the people of Italy. Mussolini was a dictator and sided with Adolf Hitler; together they became the very face of total government control while invaded surrounding countries. Huxley’s allusion to Mussolini with Mustapha Mond links the novel directly to Italy and acts as a clue to Huxley’s satire. Mond is similar to Mussolini two very obvious ways: Mond controls an entire empire with an unparalleled authority just like Mussolini, and by letting his own personal interests influence his decisions while ruling. Mussolini favored a strong military and so created a large military force and used it as he saw fit. Mond let Bernard grow up as an experiment to satisfy his curiosity and kept the experiment going when others stood in the way of it continuing. Huxley even While In Italy, Huxley had to constantly work around the Fascists, always having to make other arrangements or deal with the inconveniences of living there. In a letter to Mary Hutchinson on August 15, 1927, Huxley writes “If you see Jim, tell him his adopted country is becoming so bloody as to be practically uninhabitable,” explaining about his unhappiness there (Selected Letters, 197). Italy had become a nation of force and strict military control; Huxley, being from a relatively democratic country and having a democratic mindset, did not enjoy the government’s control over people’s lives and believed that most would not either. Huxley even furthers to say in the same letter that “the fascist efforts to civilize Italy result in merely the creation of an interfering police which one would call… corrupt and inefficient as well as tyrannous”; here he directly speaks of a “job” that was created in order to keep an even tighter watch on the people and then expresses his distaste for it, this acts as another one of Huxley’s allusions to Italy (Selected Letters, 197).
In Brave New World, the population is conditioned to believing and behaving in certain ways. There are people whose jobs are to condition the population and make sure they remember what they have been taught. These jobs are very similar to the police that Huxley mentions in Italy. The police make sure that everyone is following the rules set out by the government; the characters in Brave New World must follow rules set by their government or they will be subject to “therapy” or conditioning. The Italian society at the time was forced to accept their government’s strict demands or suffer the consequences of disobedience. In the novel, the society had accepted it and embraced the control that their government had over them. For example, the Deltas and Epsilons did what they were told to do without questioning, all they needed in return was soma; while they lacked the cognitive abilities to really understand how unfairly they were being treated, and they were ultimately willing to work for their government because their government had made them that way. If they were told what to do, what to like, and how to think then there would be no need to worry about things and life would be more comfortable. This is explained when John says “But I like the inconveniences” of freedom, to which the Controller (aka Mustapha Mond) replies “We don’t. We prefer to do things comfortably”. John wants to live his life unfiltered without someone or something controlling his life. Huxley pokes at totalitarianism here again by trying to connect John’s wants for freedom with the general desire for freedom that all people share and have fought over for centuries. In both Fascist Italy and the World State, the government has total control over a population that can do nothing about it, whether they were for it or against it, pointing out another allusion of Huxley’s trips to Italy and his criticism of this form of government.
In the novel, society is divided into social classes depending on their genetic makeup; there are the Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. Alphas have free will and can do whatever they want. Betas have free will as well, but lack some of the abilities of an Alpha. Gammas work for the Alphas and Betas; they are not as smart and act as servants. Deltas and Epsilons make up the slave force of the society. They are bred for working and doing jobs that are not “fit” for others of higher classes.
When Huxley traveled to India, he experienced and saw how the caste system of India controlled and separated the indigenous population. The majority of the people in India were not fighting the caste system because it was tradition and played a major part in their religious beliefs (Encyclopedia Britannica). In Brave New World, the classes are happy to be what they are; they have no jealously towards each other. In the novel, Mr. Foster explains genetic mutation to children, “an Epsilon embryo must have and Epsilon environment as well as an Epsilon heredity... The lower the caste, the shorter the oxygen.” (Huxley 15). In this quote Huxley even uses the word “caste” when describing the social classes, obviously linking the novel to India. The people are conditioned to embrace their role in society and to be happy about it; this is never outright stated by a lower class member, but rather always coming from someone in a social class above, leaving one to wonder if the lower classes are really happy. In India, the people are raised around and taught about their Caste system; they must accept their place in order to be “happy”. The Caste system plays a crucial role in the World States economy by providing a highly specialized workforce for the different tasks needed to be done. The World State needs its people to work efficiently without questioning their place; this is where conditioning at an early age takes the place of religion in Indian culture. It is here that another line can be drawn linking Huxley’s travels to his novel and alluding back to his satire of promoting a caste system in a Utopian society.
From an Alphas perspective, they would hate to be anything less than an Alpha. From an Epsilon’s perspective, they would hate to be anything more than an Epsilon. From a Gammas perspective, they would hate to be anything more than or anything less than a Gamma. Since Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons are always spoken for by Alphas or Betas, one must take into consideration that the lower castes do not have a say in what makes them happy, their happiness is defined by the Alphas and Betas. Here Huxley shows how “perfect” his utopian society is, everyone is happy where they are because they have been taught and conditioned to be happy about themselves. Author David Higdon writes in his book Wandering into Brave New World, about the influences that played a part in Huxley’s novel, including his trip to India, connecting Huxley’s work to India and serving to back up the claim that India’s Caste System is reflected through Brave New World as a means to critique and point out the flaws in the system (Higdon) .
When Huxley was in America, he wrote, “marvelous, but a little too much of a good thing… It is fantastic. But such is life in the Great West,” speaking about how busy and famous he was in New York (Huxley Letter). Then he furthers by writing “Los Angeles and Hollywood… Such comedy, oddness, vitality, vulgarity: it would be worth spending a month here”. Huxley was impressed with the “generous extravagance” he found in American life (somaweb.org). American consumerism showed Huxley that in America, one can have anything. So many new things, why should one save something old? In his novel, society is based on consumerism. Produce, consume- it is their way of life. They mass produce quite literally everything, including people: “Ninety-six identical twins working ninety-six identical machines… If we could bokanovskify identity the whole problem would be solved… The principle of mass production at last applied to biology.” (Huxley 6-7). Humans come from test tubes and are genetically engineered to best fit what is “needed” by society. The mass production of humans in this Utopia takes a jab at American consumerism, Huxley basically mocks American saying if there were a way to mass produce people, America would be doing it. America focuses on “feeding the masses”; a land of plenty for those who can afford it. In Huxley’s world, he hints at an American problem by showing his utopia thrive without the concerns of money or resources. Huxley uses John to argue this point, “Nothing costs enough here… Twelve and a half million- that’s what the new Conditioning Centre cost. Not a cent less.” (Huxley 287). In Huxley’s society, everything is massed produced and made as quickly and efficiently as possible; Huxley uses the production line to represent everything that society cares about, alluding to what he sees in America. Also in Brave New World, Henry Ford an American capitalist and the man accredited with creating the production line is the World States God. They even have coined his name into everyday language and even titling high members of society with terms such as “Fordship”. Huxley directly connected his world to America in this way as well.
In Brave New World, one never has to worry about breaking something or losing something, everything is replaceable. Nothing is special of different, everything is the same; unity drives them all. Stress is eliminated in this way by having this mindset. Since everything is the same and all things are replaceable, one does not have to worry about “little” things and can focus more on being happy. One does not have to be frugal or cautious about using something up, there will always be more that can be had. America acts like it has an endless amount of resources, there is always more. Huxley’s society thrives off of consuming these never ending resources and never want for anything, they always have what they want.
The utopian society that Huxley creates is exactly what it is supposed to be. The people are happy, they know exactly who they are, what they will be doing with their lives, and that they will be happy doing it. They don’t have to make decisions, their government does that for them. They know where they belong in society and what roles they play. They are happy with their place in society because they have been taught to believe it is the best for them. They can have anything they want, because they have been taught to only want the things that they can have. The government eliminates the stressors from their lives and encourage them to be “happy”.
In Italy, the general population supports their totalitarian government. They embrace it and come to depend on being told what to do and how to do it. It is much easier to follow than it is to lead, and they are no exception to that rule. They see their government as good and protective. Just as a mother nurtures and protects her child, she also tells her child what to do because she knows best. Italians were forced to obey their government as if it were their mother, always keeping what is best for them in mind. Indians have followed the Caste system for a very long time, they have grown up with it rooted deep within their history. They are historically taught to honor and respect their traditional roles in society. The US is viewed as a land of plenty; America always provides with extravagance. Most Americans consume without thinking about the future, they know that they will always have more to use later. Everything is mass produced and there is always an endless supply. Americans do not have to worry about tomorrow, the economy has already provided them with everything that they will need.
Huxley takes ideas from Italy, India, and the United States and molds a “perfect society” out of these “perfect societies”. The societies themselves are not objectively perfect, but subjectively they are to most of their members; they grew up in these environments and are used to living in them. John the Savage cannot see the perfection in Huxley’s society because he has not been conditioned or taught how to live in it and ultimately leaves because he cannot handle the “perfection” that the government has created. Huxley takes the most essential part of each of the three societies and combines them to make one super dystopian society in which totalitarianism, social classes, and consumerism all balance out to make people believe and trust in their “perfect society” which actually is quite possibly the most horrific society imaginable due to its rigid social hierarchy, totalitarianism, disregard for human dignity, and freedom.
In Brave New World, society is completely controlled by their government, the leader of which being Mustapha Mond. His duty is to do what’s “best” for the World State which often times contradicts what would be morally right. Mustapha Mond and his position controlling the people of the World State in their best interests is a reference to Mussolini and the people of Italy. Mussolini was a dictator and sided with Adolf Hitler; together they became the very face of total government control while invaded surrounding countries. Huxley’s allusion to Mussolini with Mustapha Mond links the novel directly to Italy and acts as a clue to Huxley’s satire. Mond is similar to Mussolini two very obvious ways: Mond controls an entire empire with an unparalleled authority just like Mussolini, and by letting his own personal interests influence his decisions while ruling. Mussolini favored a strong military and so created a large military force and used it as he saw fit. Mond let Bernard grow up as an experiment to satisfy his curiosity and kept the experiment going when others stood in the way of it continuing. Huxley even While In Italy, Huxley had to constantly work around the Fascists, always having to make other arrangements or deal with the inconveniences of living there. In a letter to Mary Hutchinson on August 15, 1927, Huxley writes “If you see Jim, tell him his adopted country is becoming so bloody as to be practically uninhabitable,” explaining about his unhappiness there (Selected Letters, 197). Italy had become a nation of force and strict military control; Huxley, being from a relatively democratic country and having a democratic mindset, did not enjoy the government’s control over people’s lives and believed that most would not either. Huxley even furthers to say in the same letter that “the fascist efforts to civilize Italy result in merely the creation of an interfering police which one would call… corrupt and inefficient as well as tyrannous”; here he directly speaks of a “job” that was created in order to keep an even tighter watch on the people and then expresses his distaste for it, this acts as another one of Huxley’s allusions to Italy (Selected Letters, 197).
In Brave New World, the population is conditioned to believing and behaving in certain ways. There are people whose jobs are to condition the population and make sure they remember what they have been taught. These jobs are very similar to the police that Huxley mentions in Italy. The police make sure that everyone is following the rules set out by the government; the characters in Brave New World must follow rules set by their government or they will be subject to “therapy” or conditioning. The Italian society at the time was forced to accept their government’s strict demands or suffer the consequences of disobedience. In the novel, the society had accepted it and embraced the control that their government had over them. For example, the Deltas and Epsilons did what they were told to do without questioning, all they needed in return was soma; while they lacked the cognitive abilities to really understand how unfairly they were being treated, and they were ultimately willing to work for their government because their government had made them that way. If they were told what to do, what to like, and how to think then there would be no need to worry about things and life would be more comfortable. This is explained when John says “But I like the inconveniences” of freedom, to which the Controller (aka Mustapha Mond) replies “We don’t. We prefer to do things comfortably”. John wants to live his life unfiltered without someone or something controlling his life. Huxley pokes at totalitarianism here again by trying to connect John’s wants for freedom with the general desire for freedom that all people share and have fought over for centuries. In both Fascist Italy and the World State, the government has total control over a population that can do nothing about it, whether they were for it or against it, pointing out another allusion of Huxley’s trips to Italy and his criticism of this form of government.
In the novel, society is divided into social classes depending on their genetic makeup; there are the Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. Alphas have free will and can do whatever they want. Betas have free will as well, but lack some of the abilities of an Alpha. Gammas work for the Alphas and Betas; they are not as smart and act as servants. Deltas and Epsilons make up the slave force of the society. They are bred for working and doing jobs that are not “fit” for others of higher classes.
When Huxley traveled to India, he experienced and saw how the caste system of India controlled and separated the indigenous population. The majority of the people in India were not fighting the caste system because it was tradition and played a major part in their religious beliefs (Encyclopedia Britannica). In Brave New World, the classes are happy to be what they are; they have no jealously towards each other. In the novel, Mr. Foster explains genetic mutation to children, “an Epsilon embryo must have and Epsilon environment as well as an Epsilon heredity... The lower the caste, the shorter the oxygen.” (Huxley 15). In this quote Huxley even uses the word “caste” when describing the social classes, obviously linking the novel to India. The people are conditioned to embrace their role in society and to be happy about it; this is never outright stated by a lower class member, but rather always coming from someone in a social class above, leaving one to wonder if the lower classes are really happy. In India, the people are raised around and taught about their Caste system; they must accept their place in order to be “happy”. The Caste system plays a crucial role in the World States economy by providing a highly specialized workforce for the different tasks needed to be done. The World State needs its people to work efficiently without questioning their place; this is where conditioning at an early age takes the place of religion in Indian culture. It is here that another line can be drawn linking Huxley’s travels to his novel and alluding back to his satire of promoting a caste system in a Utopian society.
From an Alphas perspective, they would hate to be anything less than an Alpha. From an Epsilon’s perspective, they would hate to be anything more than an Epsilon. From a Gammas perspective, they would hate to be anything more than or anything less than a Gamma. Since Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons are always spoken for by Alphas or Betas, one must take into consideration that the lower castes do not have a say in what makes them happy, their happiness is defined by the Alphas and Betas. Here Huxley shows how “perfect” his utopian society is, everyone is happy where they are because they have been taught and conditioned to be happy about themselves. Author David Higdon writes in his book Wandering into Brave New World, about the influences that played a part in Huxley’s novel, including his trip to India, connecting Huxley’s work to India and serving to back up the claim that India’s Caste System is reflected through Brave New World as a means to critique and point out the flaws in the system (Higdon) .
When Huxley was in America, he wrote, “marvelous, but a little too much of a good thing… It is fantastic. But such is life in the Great West,” speaking about how busy and famous he was in New York (Huxley Letter). Then he furthers by writing “Los Angeles and Hollywood… Such comedy, oddness, vitality, vulgarity: it would be worth spending a month here”. Huxley was impressed with the “generous extravagance” he found in American life (somaweb.org). American consumerism showed Huxley that in America, one can have anything. So many new things, why should one save something old? In his novel, society is based on consumerism. Produce, consume- it is their way of life. They mass produce quite literally everything, including people: “Ninety-six identical twins working ninety-six identical machines… If we could bokanovskify identity the whole problem would be solved… The principle of mass production at last applied to biology.” (Huxley 6-7). Humans come from test tubes and are genetically engineered to best fit what is “needed” by society. The mass production of humans in this Utopia takes a jab at American consumerism, Huxley basically mocks American saying if there were a way to mass produce people, America would be doing it. America focuses on “feeding the masses”; a land of plenty for those who can afford it. In Huxley’s world, he hints at an American problem by showing his utopia thrive without the concerns of money or resources. Huxley uses John to argue this point, “Nothing costs enough here… Twelve and a half million- that’s what the new Conditioning Centre cost. Not a cent less.” (Huxley 287). In Huxley’s society, everything is massed produced and made as quickly and efficiently as possible; Huxley uses the production line to represent everything that society cares about, alluding to what he sees in America. Also in Brave New World, Henry Ford an American capitalist and the man accredited with creating the production line is the World States God. They even have coined his name into everyday language and even titling high members of society with terms such as “Fordship”. Huxley directly connected his world to America in this way as well.
In Brave New World, one never has to worry about breaking something or losing something, everything is replaceable. Nothing is special of different, everything is the same; unity drives them all. Stress is eliminated in this way by having this mindset. Since everything is the same and all things are replaceable, one does not have to worry about “little” things and can focus more on being happy. One does not have to be frugal or cautious about using something up, there will always be more that can be had. America acts like it has an endless amount of resources, there is always more. Huxley’s society thrives off of consuming these never ending resources and never want for anything, they always have what they want.
The utopian society that Huxley creates is exactly what it is supposed to be. The people are happy, they know exactly who they are, what they will be doing with their lives, and that they will be happy doing it. They don’t have to make decisions, their government does that for them. They know where they belong in society and what roles they play. They are happy with their place in society because they have been taught to believe it is the best for them. They can have anything they want, because they have been taught to only want the things that they can have. The government eliminates the stressors from their lives and encourage them to be “happy”.
In Italy, the general population supports their totalitarian government. They embrace it and come to depend on being told what to do and how to do it. It is much easier to follow than it is to lead, and they are no exception to that rule. They see their government as good and protective. Just as a mother nurtures and protects her child, she also tells her child what to do because she knows best. Italians were forced to obey their government as if it were their mother, always keeping what is best for them in mind. Indians have followed the Caste system for a very long time, they have grown up with it rooted deep within their history. They are historically taught to honor and respect their traditional roles in society. The US is viewed as a land of plenty; America always provides with extravagance. Most Americans consume without thinking about the future, they know that they will always have more to use later. Everything is mass produced and there is always an endless supply. Americans do not have to worry about tomorrow, the economy has already provided them with everything that they will need.
Huxley takes ideas from Italy, India, and the United States and molds a “perfect society” out of these “perfect societies”. The societies themselves are not objectively perfect, but subjectively they are to most of their members; they grew up in these environments and are used to living in them. John the Savage cannot see the perfection in Huxley’s society because he has not been conditioned or taught how to live in it and ultimately leaves because he cannot handle the “perfection” that the government has created. Huxley takes the most essential part of each of the three societies and combines them to make one super dystopian society in which totalitarianism, social classes, and consumerism all balance out to make people believe and trust in their “perfect society” which actually is quite possibly the most horrific society imaginable due to its rigid social hierarchy, totalitarianism, disregard for human dignity, and freedom.
Works Cited
A., Matthew. (2009) Aldous Huxley - somaweb.org. Retrieved 23 April 2009 <http://somaweb.org/>. Web. 27 April 2014.
Higdon, David Leon. Wandering into Brave New World. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2013. Print.
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World, And Brave New World Revisited. With A Foreword By The Author And An Introd. By John M. Nagle. n.p.: New York, Harper [1964] 1964. GrayCat. Print.
Huxley, Aldous, and James Sexton. Aldous Huxley: Selected Letters. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2007. Print.
Takezawa, Yasuko I. "India's Caste System." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 03 May 2014.
Wade, Peter. "India's Caste System." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 06 May 2014.
Higdon, David Leon. Wandering into Brave New World. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2013. Print.
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World, And Brave New World Revisited. With A Foreword By The Author And An Introd. By John M. Nagle. n.p.: New York, Harper [1964] 1964. GrayCat. Print.
Huxley, Aldous, and James Sexton. Aldous Huxley: Selected Letters. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2007. Print.
Takezawa, Yasuko I. "India's Caste System." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 03 May 2014.
Wade, Peter. "India's Caste System." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 06 May 2014.