Why is personal sacrifice required to live in a society where everyone is happy? Is it even possible for everyone to be happy with such trade-offs in play — concessions like no family units, no monogamy, or even no privacy. What does it take for a utopian society to stay that way, for everyone who lives there?
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Why does Utopia require personal sacrifice?
The utopian society in Peacock’s Brave New World has a few key rules in order to stay that way.
A reckoning with the costs of living in a utopia can be seen in full force in Aldous Huxley’s iconic novel Brave New World — now a Peacock original series. In Peacock’s Brave New World, the utopian New London is a pinnacle of modern civilization. It’s a sun-soaked dreamscape of a city, and those who run it are quick to proclaim its perfection: “Everybody in their rightful place. Everybody happy now.”
Except ... happiness drugs called “soma” are imbibed as casually as candy in New London; if happiness is really universal, why does it require constant medication? And if all citizens are happily law-abiding, why is unfettered digital surveillance necessary? The very notion of privacy is “disgusting” as one New London leader puts it. Monogamy and family are outlawed, too. But why? What makes privacy, personal relationships, or even pain, for that matter, a threat to the very foundation of the utopian society?
Utopias have a habit of not lasting. Even the word “utopia” contains an inherent contradiction. In 1516, Sir Thomas More coined the term from the Ancient Greek “οὐ,” meaning “no,” and “τόπος,” meaning “place.” Utopia literally means No Place. But that doesn’t stop humans from trying to create them. And then, once created, to fiercely protect their existence from threats, both internal and external.
In Peacock’s Brave New World, it’s the introduction of an outsider named John that forces the people of New London to question the values they live by — and the sacrifices they’ve made. In the place John comes from, happiness is hardly universal and conflict is rife, but he was free there in ways most New Londoners can’t imagine. Which makes him a threat.
So how do the inhabitants of New London in Peacock’s Brave New World’s ultimately fare? Tune in now on Peacock to find out.