Imagine one living in a society consisting of daily, sexual relationships with varied partners absent of any true emotional connection.  Imagine one being required to take drugs in order to feel happy. Imagine one never being alone with his own thoughts. Imagine a society where people are created by technology instead of by nature.  One may not believe that a society such as this one could ever exist; however, author Aldous Huxley shows such a vision in his coherent dystopian novel Brave New World. Huxley stresses to readers that governments that focus on social stability will destroy meaningful human experiences.

In Huxley’s society of the World State, the government enforces sexual relationships with various partners absent of any true emotional connections in order to achieve social stability. By doing so, the people of this society feel as if they should be having sex with everyone, and it is a disgrace to only be intimate with one person. Through Fanny, Huxley declares, “Oh, she jolly well doesn't see why there should have been,’ Fanny repeated, as though to an invisible listener behind Lenina's left shoulder. Then, with a sudden change of tone, ‘But seriously,’ she said, ‘I really do think you ought to be careful. It's such horribly bad form to go on and on like this with one man. At forty, or thirty-five, it wouldn't be so bad. But at your age, Lenina! No, it really won't do. And you know how strongly the D.H.C. objects to anything intense or long-drawn. Four months of Henry Foster, without having another man—why, he'd be furious if he knew…" (Huxley 40). During this time period, it is no longer germane for one to have a single intimate relationship. The D.H.C would be furious to know that one is devious when it comes to the rules social stability has established. Relationships cause pain; pain leads to murky emotions, and murky emotions lead to chaos.  Having multiple sexual relationships is the way to keep people content, satisfied, and keep social stability intact.
In order to achieve social stability, the government of the World State enforces the use of soma, a drug that causes its users to feel only happiness. With all of its citizens living in a state of drug-induced bliss, the government no longer has worries of chaos nor problems that could break loose. Through Henry Foster, Huxley states, " ‘Glum, Marx, glum.’ The clap on the shoulder made him start, look up. It was that brute Henry Foster. ‘What you need is a gramme of soma’ ”(Huxley 54).  To Henry Foster and the others trapped in this society, soma is the only access to feelings of happiness. Without soma there would be problems within the society because people would then be left alone with their own thoughts. One sitting alone with his own thoughts is like committing a crime because then the feeling of happiness is absent; Feelings of happiness being absent causes chaos. Another perfect example is when John throughs the soma out a window because he is so angry with how the government and the people are acting. Through John the Savage, Huxley claims “ ‘But do you like being slaves?’ the Savage was saying as they entered the hospital. His face was flushed, his eyes bright with ardour and indignation. ‘Do you like being babies? Yes, babies. Mewling and Mewling and puking,’ he added, exasperated by their bestial stupidity into throwing insults at those he had come to save. The insults bounced off their carapace of thick stupidity; They stared at him with a blank expression of dull and sullen resentment in their eyes. ‘Yes, puking!’ he fairly shouted. Grief and remorse, compassion and duty-all were forgotten now and, as it were, absorbed into an intense overpowering hatred of these less than human monsters. ‘Don’t you want to be free and men? Don’t you even understand what manhood and freedom are?’ Rage was making him fluent; the words came easily, in a rush. ‘Don’t you?’ he repeated, but got no answer to his question. ‘Very well then,’ he went on grimly. ‘I’ll teach you; I’ll make you free whether you want to or not.’ And pushing open a window that looked on to the inner court of the Hospital, he began to throw the little pill boxes of soma tablets in handfuls out into the area” (Huxley 212-213). To John, the people in the society are like babies in a crate puking and crying for someone to guide them instead of guiding themselves. John is so angry with them, but they are so clueless they do not even understand why. He wants them to realize reality and because they will not be independent he makes an act to get rid of one source that is stopping them from living their lives. Soma is given to them to stop them from thinking what it would be like to be free. To them they are free because that is the only “freedom” they have ever known. The people are not free and they never will know what it is like to be free.  This drug is forced upon the people in order to eschew any chaos society could inherit due to social stability.
In Huxley’s society, the government of the World State nefariously ends all interaction between humans beings and their own thoughts in order to achieve social stability. Through Mustapha Mond, Huxley asserts strongly, "Now–such is progress–the old men work, the old men copulate, the old men have no time, no leisure from pleasure, not a moment to sit down and think–or if ever by some unlucky chance such a crevice of time should yawn in the solid substance of their distractions...” (Huxley 55). They are always busy they never have the time to think outside the box. They are always going to meet with others, play games, or sleep with others. No one was given the chance to decide whether or not the role of social stability is doing more harm than good. Even if the people were given the chance to voice their opinion they wouldn’t go against the idea because that idea is all they’ve ever known. The government strongly believes that if humans sat alone with their thoughts, the government could be overthrown due to people having an animadversion over the type of social stability the government created; therefore in order to remain in control, the government provides distractions such as soma.
In order to achieve social stability, the D.H.C creates humans by technology instead of by nature. Through Mr. Foster, Huxley attacks, “We also predestine and condition. We decant our babies as socialized human beings, as Alphas or Epsilons, as future sewage workers or future...’ He was going to say ‘future World controllers,’ but correcting himself, said ‘future Directors of Hatcheries,’ instead” (Huxley 13).  The government gets to pick and choose what groups people fit into, what people act like, and what people like. Even if the people of the society did not like who they were, it did not matter because they never have the voice to speak on what they want. Nothing is done naturally, and that is part of the reason why no one questions the social stability being achieved. If people were born naturally than they would have their own mindsets; people having their own mindset would cause different reactions to situations; different reactions would cause chaos; chaos would cause people to have the right to go against the social stability within their society. Taking away the opportunity for people to think about situations allows the government establishing a strong social stability throughout the society.
Although the majority of people in the World State obey the ideas social stability enforces, Brave New World clearly warns readers that governments who focus on social stability will destroy meaningful and important human experiences. Huxley makes his readers ask questions that were never asked before, but the answers were always there. Do you think that our society is leading down this path due to the maelstrom of social stability? According to Huxley, if we are not safe with or surroundings and technology, then we might end up there. Little do we know he is right. There are already human cloning experiments taking place in the United States. If we are  not careful, then eventually social stability will be running the way with live instead of the way we live running our social stability.

Work Cited

Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper & Bros, 1946. Print.