1. Brave New World Revisited
CONTEXT

2. The Essays Aldous Huxley published Brave New World in 1931
He wrote “Brave New World Revisited” in 1958
“Brave New World Revisited” is a series of essays concerned with the major social problems of Huxley’s time
These same problems were apparent to him in the late 1920’s when he wrote the novel
The essays revisit the problems of the novel to see if they had gotten better or worse

3. The Concepts
Huxley’s essays were focused on major social issues that all stem from a world that is quickly becoming overpopulated
The KEY concept for Huxley was overpopulation

4. Overpopulation Leads To…
Control
Organize the
people :
Decide for
the people :
Educate the
people :

5. Organize The People
With so many people on earth, they must be organized in order for the world to function (creating a STATE)
Organizing the people logically means governing them
There are 4 main types of government with which Huxley is concerned:
Democracy
Autocracy
Dictatorship
Communist leadership

6. Organize The People
Government (the State) has to set and enforce the social rules for its people:
social customs
social hierarchy
economic system
food supply
resources
safety of family and individual
religious tolerance or intolerance
social programs
BACK

7. Decide For The People
The State must make decisions for its people (even in a democracy, some decisions must be made by the leader of the ruling party)
The State must make decisions about:
Health and safety
Social structures

8. Decide For The People
Governments have to morally and ethically control birth, death, and resources:
birth control
death control
define the ethics of the state
define the morality of the state
consider religions
BACK

9. Educate The People
The State must educate the people about the policies and procedures
In most cases, this ‘education’ means selling the people the ideas of the State (making the general public buy into what the State wants for them)
This happens even in a democracy

10. Educate The People
Governments have to ‘sell’ their ideas to the citizens:
propaganda
state controlled media: TV
Radio
Newspapers
brainwashing
art of selling
chemical persuasion
subconscious persuasion

11. Into The Future
These are the main concepts that Huxley discusses in his essays
He relates these essays to how his world was when he wrote the novel
As you read the essays, ask yourself: How much better or worse has the world become since Huxley’s time?
Should Huxley’s warnings have been acted upon? Would the world be different if they had?