hberg95's review against another edition
4.0
Huxley seems to present a nascent criticism of neoliberal politics that resonates with the thoughts of later thinkers like Foucault, Agamben, and Postman (most explicitly). I think he, and these others, adequately address (and even predict) the crises we're facing today and have ahead of us when it comes to things like propaganda, surveillance, and the construction of unquestionable truths that repress free thought (I'm thinking about Zizek/Jameson's claim that "It's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism").
The curious thing, though, is that I could see alt-right thinkers reading BNW and BNWR and believing them to contain a tacit endorsement of anti-vax policy and COVID denialism. This weird overlap between far leftist and alt-right politics is such a fascinating one, and I feel like reading Huxley complicates things even more for me. I think he's right about the way that media functions as a propaganda machine, I think he's right that we're becoming numb to our own oppression, and I do think that "Big Business" and "Elites" are, in part, to blame for that (i.e. neoliberal politicians, both Democratic and Republican). But I struggle more with his anti-Communist rhetoric (though, they make sense given the context and time period of his writing) and ideas that veer toward the kind of critical theory that looks a lot like alt-right conspiracy thinking. I don't want to dismiss these ideas though, I think a lot of them are valuable critiques and interesting questions. I guess I'm just not sure what to do with some of these ideas.
I love the way Huxley writes though, and I'm sure I'll be revisiting this one.
The curious thing, though, is that I could see alt-right thinkers reading BNW and BNWR and believing them to contain a tacit endorsement of anti-vax policy and COVID denialism. This weird overlap between far leftist and alt-right politics is such a fascinating one, and I feel like reading Huxley complicates things even more for me. I think he's right about the way that media functions as a propaganda machine, I think he's right that we're becoming numb to our own oppression, and I do think that "Big Business" and "Elites" are, in part, to blame for that (i.e. neoliberal politicians, both Democratic and Republican). But I struggle more with his anti-Communist rhetoric (though, they make sense given the context and time period of his writing) and ideas that veer toward the kind of critical theory that looks a lot like alt-right conspiracy thinking. I don't want to dismiss these ideas though, I think a lot of them are valuable critiques and interesting questions. I guess I'm just not sure what to do with some of these ideas.
I love the way Huxley writes though, and I'm sure I'll be revisiting this one.
yvan_noir's review against another edition
4.0
Mejor que la novela.
Los puntos que trata este ensayo demuestran la lucidez que tenía Huxley como critico de la sociedad. Pero no se limitó a criticarla, sino que también hizo propuestas para resolver los problemas que él veía.
Los puntos que trata este ensayo demuestran la lucidez que tenía Huxley como critico de la sociedad. Pero no se limitó a criticarla, sino que también hizo propuestas para resolver los problemas que él veía.
barbaramanatee's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book. Many people told me that it was disgusting and that they didn't like it because it was all about sex. The thing is, the whole point of the book is how the government was using sex as a distraction. It was necessary for the overall message to include sex as a main topic. Everything was done very tastefully, and I think the book had a great message about how we need to be involved in our government and pay attention to what is happening around us
house_elf_hannah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
amy_korba's review against another edition
3.0
Completely creepy how accurate he is, given when it was written.
kettlepot's review against another edition
4.0
Having just finished Brave New World and 1984, interesting analysis by Huxley on the systems and technology that could make either of those worlds a reality. Maybe we are on the path already or, in some ways, already there...
cowboynixan's review against another edition
challenging
tense
slow-paced
1.0
Way too above my reading level which made it hard to finish, the writing is so unnecessarily dense and you can find so much better works that actually emphasize the point of this book better without the weird racism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Ableism, Colonisation, Suicide, and Medical content
Moderate: Suicide