Upon reading this, I agree with Huxley. However, I do believe that there is an element of 1984 still around. Not so much with the banning of books persay, but the encroachment of our privacy and the constant survailence and general violation of the Bill of rights via the government and corporations.
And when thinking about it, if there ever was to be a "Big Brother" type entity to emerge, I think it would be more of a corporate controlled image/reality than it would be a governmental. That would dovetail nicely with Huxley in the concept that a corporation would be in control of the image and would more likely be a highly marketed image to convince the masses that it would be good to swallow the "pill" rather than force feeding them.
And given everything written by both authors in regards to a future society, I do side more with Huxley, but certainly see elements of Orwell.
I think the more developed the economy the more likely a Brave New World type of control is to unfold. I believe Orwell was writting from a post WWII British society where the decline of the British Empire was glaringly evident. It was in those circumstances where a British society in general was already living without and still under a war time rationing system.
Orwell's view of a future was squewed toward an omnipresent ruler who didn't need to fulfil the needs of society, but mearly control them with the least amount of resources, by giving them just enough to get by and a way to vent their frustration.
When comparing Brave New World and 1984; one is a life where image and message is completely controlled in an oppressive manner, the other is image and message is controlled by lulling the masses into a false sense of contentment.
Here in the U.S. we certainly fall into the latter situation.
However, in the end, in both books, the authorities achieve the same goal, to control and manipulate the masses.
(pardon the spelling errors)
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