BAI MUNDU BERRIA

Bai mundu berria

Aldous Huxley

(Elkar)

The novel begins in London in the "year of Our Ford 632" (AD 2540 in the Gregorian Calendar). The planet is united as The World State under a peaceful world government established in the aftermath of an apocalyptic global war in the 21st century; a government which has eliminated war, poverty, crime and unhappiness by creating a homogeneous high-tech society across Earth, based on the industrial principles of Henry Ford. Fordism forms the bedrock of the new society, gaining a quasi-religious status and forming the backbone of political and economic ideologies. Society is rigidly divided into five classes and all members of society are trained to be good consumers to keep the economy strong. All citizens are expected to be involved socially; spending time alone is discouraged and sexual promiscuity is norm. Recreational drug use has become a pillar of society and all citizens regularly swallow tablets of soma, a narcotic-tranquilizer that makes users mindlessly happy. A significant aspect of the society is the mechanisation of reproduction. Citizens of the World State do not reproduce naturally; people are taught to view natural reproduction as a primitive act. Instead, all children are created from embryos grown in factories: production of embryos is planned according to the economic capacity of society. For the embryo, the womb is replaced by an artificial life support mechanism referred to as a bottle. Significantly, each individual's destiny is determined long before he or she is "decanted".

Izan ote liteke gizarte perfekturik? 1932an imajinatu zuen Huxleyk mundu berri hau, utopia moderno bat, non ez dagoen goserik, ez beharrik, ez zoritxarrik. Dena dago antolatua, prestatua, bakoitzak du bere lekua eta pozik bizi da leku horretan. Hala ere, mundu bikain horretan gizakia ez da benetako gizaki: zoriona derrigorrezkoa baldin bada non da aukera, predestinazioak non uzten du askatasuna, grinarik gabe posible ote da artea?Gizarte futurista horrek, guztiz urrun eta irudimenezkoa izanik ere, askotan geurearen hainbat alderdi dakarzkigu gogora, Huxleyk sekulako zorroztasuna izan zuelako bai zientziaren bai politikaren norabideei antzemateko. Oso liburu gutxi idatzi dira hau bezain lazgarriak, izugarriak, erabat asmatua izan arren halako egiaren irudipena sortu eta irakurleari zer pentsatua ematen diotenak. (Elkar-eko webgunetik ekarria)