In Brave New World, although the human race is capable of creating perfectly healthy humans (with a mistake here or there, but still), they create an entire class with subhuman mental capabilities, and other classes that were less strong and intelligent than they could have been.
This raises two questions: does some one always have to be on the bottom? And is it the same to have disabilities imposed by the system, or imposed by chance?
In the book they explain that for stability, there must be some classes who have less power and privilege than others. There are plenty of economic and political ideas that support or disprove this concept. The latter question, however, is more difficult to talk about. If we had complete control over things like severe autism and Downs Syndrome, would it be wrong for the powers that be to mandate that a certain number of "disabled" people be created? Is that heartless, or copying nature? On a personal level, the concept of poisoning embryos (as they do in Brave New World) to stunt their growth and development disgusts me. This is a horrid example of how science can be used in a way that it should never be used. But when it comes to controlling a planet, is it necessary for some people to have lower intelligence, so that they aren't discontented with boring, simple jobs? Is this doing them a favor - if someone has to do these jobs - to "condition" them to be content? Or is it a heinous, artificial imitation of one of nature's faults?
Unlike many satires, which ridicule one or two simple issues or individuals, Brave New World raises questions that are almost impossible to answer. If you haven't read it, I would. Even after finishing it, I am still questioning things in the world around me that I previously didn't give much thought to - everything from religion, to self-punishment, to marriage's place in society. In my opinion, that makes it a book that was worth my time.
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