Is New Brave World coming?

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30 Jul 2023

Has New Brave World already started?
Writing this, I don't mean Brave Explorer, which in my opinion is pretty good, and you can earn awards BAT coin) by using it, I'm writing about a book written by Audrey Huxley and an impression that did on me.
It's an anti-utopian (or dystopian) novel published in the '30s of the 20th century, and sets place in London, nearly six hundred years in the future ("after Henry's Ford industrial, humanitarian and business activity").
In this futuristic world, the pioneer and inventor of car assembly lines is threatened like a deity.
But, in this case, instead of cars - human life has been almost entirely industrialized, its created in artificial wombs (on assembly lines) and then conditioned into a particular class society system — controlled by a few people (highest case-Alpha plus) at the top of a World State.
The novel shows a strictly hedonistic and consumer population of people, who are mainly focused on performing easy, non-demanding jobs, taking drugs, and acting recreational sex. In this world, there is no place for individual behavior "Each one (person) belongs to everyone".
I don't want to spoil the fun of reading this book and won't be going into more details, just wanted to make some observations about the present day.
Although I can't say much about conditioning people into a particular society, as I'm not a social psychologist, I got the impression that nowadays, we are "programmed" to think and behave in a specified way.
Firstly, no doubt, we live in a consumer society (at least if Europe is considered), we use to spend a lot on things, we don't need (new electrical equipment, clothes, toys, drinking coffee at fancy coffee shops, etc.), what's more, most of us are buying new stuff (and throwing out old one), when it's damaged or worn out, instead of repairing it.
Secondly, let's take a look at various sorts of social media (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, OnlyFans, etc.) - a big part of our community is ready to sacrifice their privacy or even intimacy, to get attention, fight loneliness, and earn quiet easy money.
Another, bothering me thought is, that platform like TikTok or YouTube, or even surfing on websites often distracts our attention from really important things (similar to soma drug in the novel).
Thirdly, according to me, there is very little place for individualists in this world nowadays, particularly, doing something in your way will expose you to general ostracism, for example, when you have an unusual hobby, which you practice, without showing off on social portal, you will be considered as a freak.

The more intense I think about how similar our reality to the New Brave World is, the more frightened I am.
Even the phrase "you will own nothing, but you still will be happy" or " Welcome to 2030: I own nothing, have no privacy, and life has never been better" reminds me of surrealistic sentences repeated by Lenina or other characters.

And here comes my thought about CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency): is it the money we will own? Minted by Central Banks, will bring high potential - for example quick, easy, low costs transactions without a third party, but it also will carry an even higher risk of being permanently traced on how we are spending our money, to whom we donate them, what are our ha its, of course by the government and its tax administration.
CBDCs' can be even out of date, which will make our money useless.

Coming back to the novel "New Brave World", the author - Audrey Huxley (a very interesting person himself) writing this novel in the thirties of XXth century, couldn't predict many existing nowadays technologies ( such as the internet, mobile phones, credit cards, etc.) but the developing trends in human society which he predicted, terrifies me a lot.
What's your opinion about that? Leave a comment, please.

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