Escaping Tradition: Soma and Society’s Rejection of Hedonism

It's A Brave New World

At its heart, my vision of the world in Brave New World, was of a society deeply committed to hedonism; one where pleasure and comfort reign unchallenged, where suffering, emotional turmoil, and existential dread have been completely eliminated. Central to this society is the idea that humanity naturally gravitates toward pleasure, happiness, and ease. Our fundamental nature as humans inclines us toward comfort, gratification, and the satisfaction of our desires, driven by a powerful urge to avoid pain, boredom, stress, and discomfort at nearly any cost.

Emotions like jealousy, love, grief, ambition, curiosity, and anxiety are intentionally suppressed to create a society fully dedicated to pleasure and happiness. These strong feelings cause conflict, unrest, and dissatisfaction, making it difficult to maintain a stable, content community. Jealousy creates resentment, love leads to possessiveness and heartbreak, ambition fuels dissatisfaction with one’s role, and grief or anxiety disrupt continuous joy. Removing these emotions ensures that citizens remain consistently satisfied, avoiding personal and social conflicts. This emotional suppression is necessary because it allows for the uninterrupted experience of pleasure, providing a peaceful, stable society devoted entirely to hedonism. Is suppressing these emotions worth an entire hedonistic society? Are these emotions also part of what makes us human?

From the moment of birth, citizens in this envisioned world are conditioned to perceive continuous pleasure and instant gratification as their inherent right. Human nature, left free from imposed constraints, would indeed seek a state of constant joy, simplicity, and immediate satisfaction. Pleasure and comfort are powerful motivators precisely because they appeal directly to our basic instincts; we are biologically wired to pursue reward and evade pain.

However, throughout history, societies have largely suppressed these natural tendencies. Traditions, morality, religion, and cultural norms have shaped us to perceive indulgence and comfort as suspicious, if not outright immoral. We have been conditioned to see struggle and pain as essential to character-building, necessary ingredients for a meaningful life. Thus, we perpetuate the idea that pleasure must always come at a cost, earned through hardship, sacrifice, or discipline.

Sex

One of the most telling examples of this societal suppression is our condemnation of natural human pleasures, particularly those involving sex and drugs. Sexual desire, though an inherent part of human biology and emotional well-being, is often treated as taboo, shameful, or sinful. Rather than openly acknowledging sexuality as a healthy and fundamental aspect of human existence, societies frequently stigmatize or criminalize its expression, thereby creating unnecessary guilt and suffering.

In Brave New World, the phrase "everyone belongs to everyone else" captures the society's attitude toward relationships and sexuality. It emphasizes that no one should develop exclusive or deep emotional attachments; instead, sexual interactions should be casual, frequent, and freely shared among all members of society. This belief helps eliminate jealousy, possessiveness, and emotional conflicts, ensuring social harmony and stability. By reinforcing the idea that individual relationships hold no special value, the society maintains a continuous state of collective pleasure and prevents emotional complications that could disrupt the hedonistic ideal.

Sex represents perhaps the pinnacle of human pleasure precisely because its power originates from within ourselves, driven by our internal chemistry and intrinsic biology rather than external substances or stimuli. Unlike pleasures reliant upon external factors, sexual gratification harnesses our body's natural chemistry: hormones, neurotransmitters, and sensory responses, creating profound emotional and physical sensations rooted deeply in our own nature. This internal origin grants sexual pleasure an authenticity and intensity that few external pleasures can rival, making it one of humanity’s most fundamental and pure forms of hedonistic experience.

Drugs

Similarly, the use of drugs, substances that have historically provided humans with relaxation, pleasure, or expanded awareness, is vilified, associated with weakness, moral decay, or criminality. Yet, many of these substances offer a pathway to happiness, temporary relief from anxiety, and liberation from emotional pain. Society's instinctive response, however, has often been prohibition and condemnation rather than responsible exploration or acceptance.

In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, soma is the ultimate pleasure drug: harmless, effective, and free from negative side effects, designed to eliminate unhappiness, anxiety, and dissatisfaction instantly. It symbolizes society's perfect escape, ensuring a continuous state of blissful contentment. The slogan, "Just a gram, don't give a damn", encapsulates soma’s power: taking even a small dose erases worries and cares, freeing individuals from emotional burdens and leaving them blissfully indifferent to life's troubles.

What do you think about a drug like soma? Would you take it? Can we as society handle or tolerate it? How are we collectively already handling the world of drugs and intoxication? Would the fact that soma has no negative adverse effects change anything?

I suspect our current society would not be prepared for a drug as perfect and consequence-free as soma. Humanity, faced with unlimited ease and comfort, might find its progress stalled, ambitions dulled, and creativity diminished. Nevertheless, on a deeply personal level, I admit an undeniable curiosity and longing to experience soma myself, a taste of pure, effortless happiness, if only for a moment.

Struggle Is Passed Down

Generation after generation, we pass on the notion that happiness must be rationed, mistrusted, or earned with difficulty. Rarely do we question why we uphold such beliefs. The result is a culture that glorifies struggle, valorizes hardship, and stigmatizes indulgence, effectively suppressing the natural human inclination toward hedonism.

But what if we challenged these deeply ingrained traditions? What if we allowed ourselves to accept the idea that pursuing joy and pleasure openly and unapologetically could actually lead to a happier, healthier society? If we were to shed these inherited beliefs, we might finally embrace our true nature, creating a world in which comfort and pleasure are celebrated rather than feared.

Until we confront and question these entrenched beliefs and traditions, the vision of a purely hedonistic society remains only a fantasy, a tantalizing ideal, deeply appealing to our innate desires yet perpetually out of reach due to the chains of our inherited morality and conditioning.

Could humanity ever truly achieve or thrive within a purely hedonistic society? It's an intriguing question; one that challenges us to reconsider deeply held assumptions and convictions about human nature, ambition, and purpose. If we fully embraced pleasure as our primary objective, abandoning the moralistic constraints and traditions we hold closely, would society flourish in harmony, or would we stagnate, losing the ambition and resilience that drive progress? Perhaps our greatest barrier isn't the pursuit of pleasure itself, but our persistent suspicion toward it, ingrained in us by generations of conditioning. Exploring this possibility prompts us to question whether true contentment lies in balancing our desire for endless pleasure with the enduring human instinct for growth, creativity, and meaning.

The Book

I thoroughly enjoyed Brave New World, yet I found myself wishing it offered more detailed world-building. While John’s narrative is compelling, I felt the exploration of the daily lives and inner workings of each societal class could have provided deeper insight and enriched the novel further. Understanding how individuals from each caste experienced their routines, interactions, and internal thoughts would have been fascinating, deepening our appreciation of a hedonistic world fully realized. I really enjoyed the first 2 chapters as it dove deep into how humans are grown, detached from humanity, and conditioned into this world through hypnopaedia (sleep teaching), social predestination, neo-pavlovian style condition, and what they call "erotic play" condition.

If you find any of this interesting, I highly implore you to read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.