In our modern world there are three known classes: upper class (the rich), middle class (the financially average), and lower class (those who are not as privileged as the first two classes). This ranking has to do with money, but we as humans tend to rank each other in many other aspects. Why do you think we do this?
The society in the novel Brave New World is also comprised of different classes, such as the Alphas and Betas on top for intellectual reasons, followed by the average individuals the Gammas, Deltas, and lastly the unintelligent, laboring Epsilons. This world holds some characteristics of our own modern world. Their great dependence upon soma has illustrations of our modern day's drug issues. When John's mother dies in the hospital from a soma overdose he begins to throw the soma rations that the workers were receiving out the window, and causes hysteria amongst the workers, due to their dependence on it. With the drug problem today, are we also headed in the same direction that Brave New World displays?
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I think we rank ourselves because it adds a bit of comfort to know that we are higher up than someone else, even if we're not. With what I learned in history, power is addictive, and that could possibly be why us humans like to see ourselves better than someone else, it adds power. Now as for the drug problem, I believe it is quite possible that our society can become so dependent on drugs that it can cause riots, which is rather scary.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Alex, we rank ourselves higher than those less fortunate than us because it makes us feel better about ourselves. Like, it gives some people a "haha, I'm better than you, even if I'm truthfully miserable" feeling. We've had the separation of classes way back in the sixteenth century at the beginning of America, so I think it might have molded into the culture of America, sadly. There's no going back when we've sunk this deep. Also, I definitely believe that America is going to become hyped on drugs, mainly with tobacco becoming closer to legalization, and once it starts dwindling down, caious is going to start, maybe even bad enough to start another war.
ReplyDeleteCorrect me if I am wrong but doesn't India still use the actual caste system?
ReplyDeleteWe are all disgusted by the American system of upper, middle, and lower, but in India they have a class called untouchables, which the worst of the worst work is reserved for.
Infact I saw a show before where they showed an Indian man who was born into being a Rat catcher, his father was a Rat catcher, his grandfather was a Rat catcher, his sons will be Rat catchers, etc. He got paid I think a dollar a day and his perk was he got to eat any rats he caught. Horrible isn't it?
As for drugs I don't think there will ever be a drug like soma where everyone is addicted to it, because there will always be people who refuse to use it.
But there is a war going on right now over drugs in Mexico between the drug lords, and it is quite possible that it will one day happen in the U.S.
Our world is very similar to that of Brave New World, but i doubt drugs are the reason for this. One of my favorite authors, Alain de Botton wrote a book called Status Anxiety. He figured that status anxiety is a side effect from our democratic, ostensibly egalitarian society. He lists causes as:
ReplyDeleteLovelessness
Expectation
Meritocracy
Snobbery
Dependence
Though he also offers solutions as well:
Philosophy
Art
Politics
Bohemianism
So to answer your question, we might be heading in the same direction as those poor souls in the book, but we have a choice to turn back.