Orwell or Huxley? Who was Right?

George Orwell and Aldous Huxley wrote two of the most prophetic warnings in fiction, 1984 and A Brave New World, respectively. Orwell foresaw a world where classic government oppression would erode democracy. In Huxley’s vision, he depicted humanity controlled by pleasure and distraction. It would seem that, to our dismay, they both got it right. Orwell’s Big Brother government is increasingly a reality at the same time Huxley’s populace’s lives are controlled by the trivial and consumerism.

They wrote their books as warnings. Most people weren’t paying attention.

If there are two books you should buy in the coming frenzied shopping sprees, and read, it’s these two.

If you are someone who wanders through life day-to-day, driven by wherever the winds blow you, these books are for you. If you are someone who thinks the elite few who run the governments are out there upholding your rights and looking out for you, first, where have you been? Second, these books are for you.

And if you are someone who thinks about the legacy we leave to generations yet to come, unlike our rulers who think election to election, these books are for you as well.

When fiction becomes fact, it is not always a good thing.