Permanent Crisis
by Jim Rose
A popular question in English literary is the equivalent of the "Who wore it best?" on insufferable Hollywood red carpet shows. The question here is who got (or is getting) it right about our dystopian future, Huxley or Orwell? Put simply, Huxley's Brave New World predicted a future where the government essentially sedates the public with drugs and sex and creature comforts to the point that citizens have no interest in or will to fight an all-controlling central government. Orwell, on the other hand, in 1984, predicted a future in where the government controls the population with the proverbial jackboot along with never-ending war and an ubiquitous surveillance state. Orwell opined:
“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.”
While it seems like a cop out, the answer to the question is that they both were right. More specifically, Huxley's vision serves as the beginning stage while Orwell's vision serves as the ultimate goal. No one can be sedated forever, especially not in a country of 330-million. The whip is the only answer to liberty. And as we move into 2021, we witness what Huxley called "permanent crisis." His words:
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