Afraid of death Quote by Aldous Huxley
““Because our world is not the same as Othello’s world. You can’t make flivvers without steel—and you can’t make tragedies without social instability. The world’s stable now. People are happy; they get what they want, and they never want what they can’t get. They’re well off; they’re safe; they’re never ill; they’re not afraid of death; they’re blissfully ignorant of passion and old age; they’re plagued with no mothers or fathers; they’ve got no wives, or children, or lovers to feel strongly about; they’re so conditioned that they practically can’t help behaving as they ought to behave. And if anything should go wrong, there’s soma. Which you go and chuck out of the window in the name of liberty, Mr. Savage. Liberty!” He laughed. “Expecting Deltas to know what liberty is! And now expecting them to understand Othello! My good boy!” The Savage was silent for a little. “All the same,” he insisted obstinately, “Othello’s good, Othello’s better than those feelies.” “Of course it is,” the Controller agreed. “But that’s the price we have to pay for stability. You’ve got to choose between happiness and what people used to call high art. We’ve sacrificed the high art. We have the feelies and the scent organ instead.” “But””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Brave New World, 1932
Societal stability is achieved by eliminating conflict, passion, and art, trading depth for comfort.
In simple terms: Stability comes at the cost of passion and art.
Balance comfort with meaningful experience.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- modern society
- consumer culture
- educational systems
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- Is comfort worth losing depth?
- How can we preserve art in a stable world?
The pursuit of safety may suppress essential human emotions and creativity.