Consumerism In Brave New World Analysis

Life is full of decisions, but they are subconsciously influenced by society. This influence has created an unhealthy relationship between social classes. How people choose to act is in complete correlation to society’s set expectation for a certain class. These actions then become reflections of people’s moral values. In Tony McAdam’s criticism of The Great Gatsby, Ethics in Gatsby, he points out the corruption of characters morals due to society’s influence and the impact that has on decision making.

Without the emphasis on the importance of community, as seen by the lack of individualism and private property, Utopians would have grown selfish and lost their sense of nationalism. In addition, the strong drive towards knowledge, which encourage citizens to think critically before sharing their opinions, was essential in ridding the nation of conflict in the government and in other matters such as religion. This want for knowledge was furthered by the encouragement of spending one’s hours acquiring useful information that would better the community, as opposed to spending leisure hours being unproductive. Without these three basic rules the Utopian society could not have

In addition to self-indulgent superiority complexes, a consumerist society also imposes social conformity. The green symbol claims “the way to live righteously is to enact one’s vignette with as much energy as possible, and oppose, as fiercely as possible, those who undercut the proper enactment of the sacred vignettes.” Individuals were created for “the sole purpose” to propagate consumerist messages; their ability to conform determines their right to live safely. Similarly capitalist societies with rampant consumerism believe individuals must earn housing and food through work. This mindset assumes social assistance breeds inefficient, dependent individuals and claims they deserve to suffer for their incompetence.

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World dives into individuality and the strange effects of stability on humanity. The novel illustrates a revolution inside a utopian world where equilibrium is the main focus of society. Protagonist Bernard Marx believes that freedom is the freedom to be individual from the rest, despising the fact that the world he beholds adopts inadequate methods to generate happiness. Though this sounds considerable and intriguing for most, revolutionary Bernard Marx expresses his vexation towards the government. Marx seeks to control society through the use of manipulation, unsuccessfully attempting to rise from being an outcast to become an active member in the community.

This process of resocialization allows some outside forces to properly control the environment of individuals to change their divergent or unstable behavior to confide with society. The Correctional Facility itself is identified as total institution, an isolated place in which people are involuntarily administered to carry out the very process of resocialization. These institutions are primarily occupied with those of whom do not conform to society and are in need of change. Concerning Andy Dufresne himself had contradicted the very concepts of the Conflict Theory; where the wealthy (The Warden and staff in this case) use their power to exploit the poor (Andy and the inmates). The prominent banker’s merit allows him to deviate amongst his fellow inmates.

The way the government controls the people, censorship on certain information, how media and technology have affected people, and society's views on opinions and access to knowledge are what makes a society that is different or similar from other societies. A difference in these traits can make a society crumble to a dystopia. The freedom of the lives in these societies can change depending on the condition of their society, whether it be an oppressive, controlling society or a free and open society. By analyzing and studying these factors, we can understand what makes a society and how to support

We live in a world in which our society influences our everyday routine, behaviors, actions and how we see ourselves. In the article Beside Oneself: On the Limits of Sexual Autonomy by Judith Butler talks about how our society can influence us to make us feel threatened affecting our lives. Our body, for instance, is one of our most criticized possessions in this society which, becomes critical when it begins to affect individuals, making them feel unsure or criticized. Politics take a crucial, part in this because politics like to control us and decide what they want us to do.

According to John Locke, an effective government must respect its people’s natural rights, which he argues is necessary because he believes that people have the ability to reason and are inherently good to govern themselves. Because the boys fail to implement this key governing component, they face the consequence of complete chaos and anarchy, which leads to multiple deaths. In John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government, he mentions the idea that “Governments exist by the consent of the people in order to protect the rights of the people and promote the public good, governments that fail to do so can be resisted and replaced with new governments.” [Locke]. Since he says that “governments exist by the consent of the people”, he is saying that

In the novel, the government makes use of their absolute authority in order to dehumanize and

Power as control is present in our daily lives, whether obviously over subtly, especially in a society where hierarchy and inequality is present. Kaufman furthered explained that individuals cannot use and develop their own capacities to an equal extent because power means taking control or advantage of something or someone. Power and equality cannot be used together because taking advantage of something using power means there is inequality. According to C.B. Machpherson, a political philosopher, human power is used to develop human capacities. He believes that human beings are doers and creators and have the capabilities to meet their needs and to fight injustices and oppression.

Once he becomes free he’s almost a different person, he seems more in sense with his senses. Consumerism is capable of running the lives of people. There are several consequences to letting consumerism control every aspect of life which is shown throughout Fight Club. Masculinity becomes an issue along with the obsession over materialistic goods. The narrator faces these issues but eventually finds release from these issues in the fight club, where he regains his sense of freedom and masculinity through violence.

Many people believe that consumerism is limited to technology, but boy oh boy are they wrong! In this day and age consumerism has no limit! Technology, clothes, cars, beauty standards, even food. We are so caught up in, “Living the American dream,” and the whole, “You’re only young once so you might as well,” that we fall into America’s pile of debt. We spend so much money on unnecessary things that we cannot afford to buy our necessary life essentials such as, I don’t know, groceries?