Published in 1932, Aldous Huxley’s vision of the future in some six centuries’ time must have been influenced by the impact of World War One and the 1929 financial crash, as well as the principles of newly established Russian communism. He imagined a highly managed global system based on the motto “Community, Identity, Stability” which has evolved a society free of disease, pain and physical ageing, in which everyone is happy and gainfully employed – but at what cost?

Human eggs are fertilised and embryos processed in the “Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre” to suit the roles needed, from a minority of Alphas destined to be managers, to Epsilon Semi-morons content to perform the most boring tasks: “Everyone works for everyone else. Even Epsilons are useful”. Mass consumption ensures work for all: “Ending is better than mending”. Women no longer need to endure pregnancy and birth, and children are reared communally, with the concept of “father” or “mother” regarded with horror.

To encourage the pursuit of happiness, young children are encouraged to take part in “erotic play”and go on to have sex with as many people as often as they wish – to avoid the mental pain of sexual jealousy or unrequited love. A drug called “soma” is freely available – in fact handed out to Epsilons at the end of a shift – to provide an escape into happy dreams, and keep depression at bay. The most popular form of entertainment is the “feelies”, undemanding tales of heroism or romance accompanied by suitable sound effects and perfumed air (this reflected Huxley’s contempt for 1930s Hollywood films). More fortunate Alphas and Betas can be transported rapidly by rocket plane to any part of the globe which catches their fancy. This still includes a few reservations inhabited by savages considered not worth civilising. The odd Alpha who may begin to question the status quo is likely to be exiled to a remote island – Iceland or The Falklands.

By chance, young John Savage, an inhabitant of one of these reservations, is introduced to this “utopian” civilisation. He is accustomed to being a misfit, being the result of an Alpha/Beta liaison in which the woman bungles her contraception and through a further mishap ends up stranded in a reservation. Self-taught through reading a battered complete works of Shakespeare, John is excited by his mother’s tales of the marvellous way of life that she has lost, which he names a “brave new world”, quoting from “The Tempest”. His experiences and reactions when he actually finds himself there build up to the novel’s climax. In Chapters 16-17 he debates the values of the “brave new world” with the pragmatic cynical Resident Controller for Western Europe, Mustapha Mond, skilled in justifying the all-embracing system. This no longer has any need for a god to punish sin or bring salvation through faith. He has been replaced by Henry Ford, pioneer of the mass production of the model T Ford car: hence the novel’s setting in A.F. 632.

Although I found the opening pages rather dry and tedious, the extent to which Huxley thought out the details of his dystopian future is impressive, with a wry sense of farce which leavens somewhat its depressing nature. The technology of his brave new world now seems dated in many respects, and he later acknowledged a “ failure of foresight” in not mentioning nuclear power, both as a source of deadly weaponry and fuel.

Yet his vision still seems very prescient in a world: driven by the need for growth via consumerism; with young people brainwashed by social media and influencers and claiming poor mental health; with the implications of AI in the hands of a few ego-driven entrepreneurs whose wealth exceeds the GDP of some countries; with the major powers dominated by autocrats employing fake news and only supporting free speech if it is in line with their views….

In the western world, we still have individuality, some freedom of choice and expression, some cultural variety and creativity, but also the threat of war, climate change and either excessive migration or too few people to sustain society. So in the possible move to a more authoritarian, undemocratic future to control all this, Huxley’s novel is a salutary warning.