Brave New World offers an interesting and fantastical take on what the effects of Communism and totalitarianism can have if it was successful in spreading around the world. Therefore, there are some parallels between the current state of society in Brave New World and the state Russia was in during the Bolshevik Revolution as described in The Black Book of Communism.
In the society of Brave New World, people are genetically engineered to be the best worker they can be. They are divided depending on what they work in, but “After all, everyone belongs to everyone else.” (Huxley, 43) Everyone is equal to each other, and everyone is kept happy. No questions arise as to how their society functions. There is a huge emphasis on stability in this environment. And they have achieved said ability through years and years of genetic engineering and conditioning. Now this way of achieving stability is extreme, but the Bolsheviks’ way of trying to achieve stability in Russia when they took over was also extreme. In the Black Book of Communism, there are numerous reports of workers and organizations revolting against the Bolsheviks as they disagreed with the new leadership by the Bolsheviks. Many of these rebellious citizens were arrested and executed and made an example of to show others what happens when you oppose the Bolsheviks. Then these citizens start to become conditioned that this government is not going anywhere and is here to say. This is one parallel I see between these two books. It is conditioning those who are ruled to remain silent and take orders. It is this stability that will drive the mission of these governments.
My next parallel I want to draw is how the Bolsheviks and the government in Brave New World picture an ideal citizen and I bring up these two quotes: “Of late the food crisis has gone from bad to worse, and the working masses are starving. They no longer have physical strength necessary to continue working…” (BBC, 89) , “Able” was the verdict of his superiors. “Perhaps” (and they would shake their heads, would significantly lower their voices) “a little too able.” (Huxley, 67) The working class under the Bolsheviks are starving, but this also means a less likely chance of disobedience. They are not “able” enough to incite unrest. In Brave New World, Bernard, while not strong, is described as able and with a “mental excess”. This is seen as undesirable amongst those in the book because no one is really supposed to question how society runs. No one questions their position in society and how it might be unfair to you or unfair to others. All they concern themselves with is work. And this is exactly what the Bolsheviks have done to the working class. The working class is supposed to work with no questions asked. Workers dying of starvation is of no concern to them as long as there are others that will keep working. This ties back into the idea of stability. To achieve stability, those you govern must stay inferior.
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