The reality is actually scarier than that if there was a big conspiracy run by an Inner Party of evil but brilliant know-it-alls, like O’Brien in “1984″ or Mustapha Mond in “Brave New World.” The reality is that nobody in charge knows much about what is going on.
For all that it’s fun to signal our horror at the ignorance/irrationality/stupidity of those in charge, I still think real-world 2012 Britain, USA, Canada and Australia are all better than Oceania circa 1984. For one thing, people are not very often written out of existence.
The quote states that the current establishment has no idea what’s going on. How would they be competent enough in this state to band together, write people out of existence, then keep it a secret indefinitely?
Of course. He keeps the brave new world running. I don’t think there are many takers here for the idea that Brave New World depicts a society we should desire and work for.
--Steve Sailer, here
For all that it’s fun to signal our horror at the ignorance/irrationality/stupidity of those in charge, I still think real-world 2012 Britain, USA, Canada and Australia are all better than Oceania circa 1984. For one thing, people are not very often written out of existence.
Or … are they?
At a certain point, conspiracy theories become indistinguishable from skeptical hypotheses.
The quote states that the current establishment has no idea what’s going on. How would they be competent enough in this state to band together, write people out of existence, then keep it a secret indefinitely?
The response was a joke.
Mustapha Mond evil?
Of course. He keeps the brave new world running. I don’t think there are many takers here for the idea that Brave New World depicts a society we should desire and work for.