Are We in the Future of Huxley or Orwell?

The novels 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley both featured dystopian futures, though the nature of their dystopias were different. As Neil Postman wrote in his book Amusing Ourselves to Death, “Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley’s vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.” There is often debate about whose vision was more accurate, Orwell or Huxley? Are we in a Big Brother surveillance dystopia where an authoritarian government oppresses its people, or a self-induced Soma dystopia where the people oppress themselves with drugs, porn, and entertainment?

I would say they both got it right—we are living in a combination of Orwell and Huxley. A large percentage of the population are the Huxley-types who drink the Soma—they buy all the propaganda from the powers that be and gladly drink the Kool-Aid (weed and porn). However, another part of the population (smaller but growing) are of the Orwell-type. They have become red-pilled to the powers that be and do not buy the propaganda. So the regime needs to be more authoritarian with them to maintain control.

The most clear example is the Covid-19 pandemic. The initial media barrage of fear-mongering during the “15 days to flatten the curve” was enough to make most people want to stay home. Even after the 15 days, they still trusted “The Science” and did whatever they were told by St. Fauci. These were the classic Huxleyites, happy to stay home, watch Netflix, order Postmates, and talk to friends and family via Zoom. However, many started to doubt the narrative being peddled to them about Covid. They did not view the pandemic as a large enough risk to stop going out: to their jobs, to Church, and to visit family. They wanted to accept the (low) risk and continue living their lives. So a Big Brother-type mandatory lockdown was required to force them to stay home.

Then we saw the same pattern repeat with the vaccines. The Huxleyites were begging to take the jab, while the Orwellians refused. So the powers that be needed to coerce corporations to institute vaccine mandates. Many who would have otherwise bypassed the vaccine obliged and got the jab, while a sizable minority still refused and were even willing to risk their jobs to defy Big Brother.

Scott Adams (RIP) coined the analogy of people watching the same events but on two screens—they literally see a different movie. The two Americas are living in alternative realities of 1984 and Brave New World. Some are living in Huxley’s dystopian future while others are living in Orwell’s dystopian future. Orwellian force only becomes a reality to those who refuse Huxleyite soma.