Archived Discussion Main / BraveNewWorld

This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.

BritBllt: Cutting this...

• And why didn't they just stop breeding/ manufacturing Epsilons, and let a society of free, intelligent humans operate the labor-saving devices? Apparently, they tried that too, and the island they tried it on collapsed into civil war within a couple of years. Crapsack World indeed.
  • It could be assumed that, the new lowest caste, without anyone to look down upon, started to grow more and more unsatisfied, as they lost the "at least I'm better then them" factor, what led to the mentioned civil war. Of course, this is purely conjecture.
  • It is also very specifically contradicted by the book. Everyone is conditioned from earliest childhood to be happy at whichever level of society they are at. It is more reasonable to believe that not having enough work makes the lower-caste members feel useless and like they're not contributing enough to society.

to this...

• And why didn't they just stop breeding/ manufacturing Epsilons, and let a society of free, intelligent humans operate the labor-saving devices? Apparently, they tried that too, and the island they tried it on collapsed into civil war within a couple of years. Crapsack World indeed.

Because the first point answered its own question with the answer the book gave. They tried that with the Cyprus experiment, the alphas turned on each other in civil war, and they learned the hard way that social stratification is a sociological necessity - either they set up the various levels peacefully, or people will start fighting their way to the top. I'll amend the wording a little to make it clear it's addressing a plot point rather than Fridge Logic.

By the way, that is a great quote from the novel to open the page on. :)