Steemit Poll: Orwell's "1984" or Huxley's "Brave New World"?

in poll •  7 years ago 

So here's the classic late night question as the last rounds are being ordered ... If you HAD to live in one of these nightmare scenarios, which one would it be? And why? Would you choose to live in the world projected by Aldous Huxley or in the world projected by George Orwell?

Both are dystopian nightmare scenarios, and there are elements of both worlds that are becoming frightening realities today. This is no coincidence. The Fabians are working tirelessly to fulfill their collectivist dream.

Just a fun poll. Leave your comments below. Also, here's a link to Huxley's letter to Orwell that was written in 1949. Curiously, their paths had crossed years before when Huxley was Orwell's French teacher at Eton College.

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/03/1984-v-brave-new-world.html

And I'll also include a link to a speech that Huxley gave at Berkley in 1961 in which he admits that dystopic novels " 'Brave New World' and '1984' were not just fiction, but blueprints for two types of controlled and enslaved societies. "

https://archive.org/details/AldousHuxley-TheUltimateRevolution

Hope you're having a good week and stay positive!

orwell-huxley.jpg

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I suppose it all depends on how you were engineered in the "Brave New World"-esque society. By default, I'd say Orwell; at least a rational (albeit conditioned) mind could find its way around the propaganda and perhaps even develop a plan of resistance more competent than Winston's.

If you're genetically and pharmaceutically engineered from birth not to question, then the situation is far more hopeless.

...that being said, if you were a true "divergent" in a Brave New World who flew under the radar, you could cause ALL SORTS of trouble. Switching their psych meds with sugar pills. Worming your way into the pods where they grow the next generation and programming a crop of 'lil anarchists. Mislabeling the Alphas, Betas, and Epsilons deliberately to cede cognitive dissonance within the society. Huxley's world is far less socially malleable than 1984, making its stressors far more brittle.

Unfortunately for us, we live in a near-perfect blend of both worlds with a little Phillip K. Dick thrown in for good measure. But an interesting thought experiment nonetheless! ;)

Followed and upvoted, mate. Keep 'em coming.