tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-980951139270141970.post148792593707554256..comments2023-11-30T10:43:33.130-06:00Comments on Reading Freely: Brave New WorldStephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15097908023032528200noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-980951139270141970.post-16672107853143085832009-08-14T01:39:26.760-05:002009-08-14T01:39:26.760-05:00Caste systems are a feature or a problem in any......Caste systems are a feature or a problem in any...planned society like the one we see here. When you're planning a society, you know how many adminstrators you need and what skills they have: you know how many grunts you need and what they need to be capable of. From our perspective, institutions like India's caste system are terrible because they don't allow people any freedom, they're grossly unfair, and they allow for abuse of the "lower" classes. These people, though -- I wonder if it's really unfair to them. They ARE conditioned to like their work. Some people want to do something else Besides that work, like Humboldt, but mostly they like their work. <br /><br />It also reminds me of a quote from one of my mentors: "We can create a system where everyone has PhDs, but somebody's still gotta work at McDonalds."<br /><br />Perhaps the only way of creating an ideal society AND making things pleasant for all humans is make all of the unfulfilling labor to be done by robots. Then humans could read or paint or -- if they're Zen monks -- sweep floors all day.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15097908023032528200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-980951139270141970.post-38058217060639005012009-08-13T03:45:13.572-05:002009-08-13T03:45:13.572-05:00It certainly is a discussion book! I love love lov...It certainly is a discussion book! I love love love this book. As a woman, it was the idea of loss of motherhood that effected me most. A similar type of future is represented in The Giver by Lois Lowry. Certain "jobs" of society are dealt out only to certain people. I can't imagine being told that I am not allowed to mother children. The happiness question is certainly relevant, but I'm far more interested in the idea of human rights. Isn't it our right to choose our class? Our right to parent, to stress out, to question authority? The World State the Huxley presents is far too much like Orwell's Big Brother for my taste. I like to think of Humans as Free beings, capable of choosing for themselves by right.Baley Petersenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15217798839187799797noreply@blogger.com