Globalization is a common theme in various aspects of modern life. Given the nature of global economics and the integration of technology allowing for a synergy of communication and information dispersal, the world is more connected than it has ever been. This is one of the primary elements of “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley. In this novel, the world is set in a dystopian future in which there is one unified “World State” government which regulates and controls the entirety of the planet. In many ways, given how technology has unified the world on a global scale and there is now a more developed, centralized economy, the world is growing much towards the one that is depicted in this novel. Over the course of this essay, three particular instances will be referenced from the book to show the connection that the novel’s principle themes and atmosphere have with the current state of the world and how, as a result, our actual world is beginning to mirror the one that was created in Huxley’s narrative.

One of the first most prominent examples within the story is that of the ten “World Controllers” that hold all of the influence over the developed world. This parallels the structure of the world that we are familiar with, in the sense that there is a very small group of individuals who are at the top of corporations and multinational companies which hold a large percentage of the world’s wealth and influence. As such, given the regions that these individuals hold and the way in which they’re essentially segmented between them based on trade agreements and partitions, this very much mirrors the nature of the World Controllers in the novel. Furthermore, there are areas of the world that aren’t utilized or under this control but are monitored nonetheless by the Controllers at all times.

Given the capacity of surveillance technologies and how many corporate entities engage foreign countries in the modern world, this is also particularly relevant. Quite possibly the most prominent aspect of “Brave New World” that is prevalent in the actual, modern world is that of the increase in technology and in turn, the amount of information which is at peoples’ disposal due to this increase. There are various entertainment installations and technologies in the novel, such as “colour organs” which combine music and lights, synthetic music boxes that create audio for the individual person to enjoy and televisions. These very closely mirror the actual technological advances in entertainment in the real world. Furthermore, the influx of information that occurs in this story creates a situation in which it is easier for the “world controllers” to distract the masses with information that is significantly less important than others. This is similar to a lot of the mass media exploits in the current world.

Lastly, the nature of the rate of advancement of these technologies is also eerily similar to our world. One of the world controllers, Mustapha Mond, admits that technological advancements are present and at a much higher quality than what is evident, but that they aren’t distributed all at once to maintain production and consistent consumer interest. As such, the citizens don’t enjoy the benefits of these technologies as they could. All of these thematic elements and components closely mirror developments in our world and as such, it is easy to believe that a scenario could exist in which our world comes to mirror the one in “Brave New World.” Given the consumerist mentality and the nature by which an elite few control the bulk of products and services, these themes in themselves present stark comparisons to our world and the one crafted in the novel.