Reflections on Brave New World XI: Selling Your Soul

Trey Smith

This will be my last reflection on this great book before I move on to The Sleeper Awakes by H. G. Wells.

In many ways, the most diabolical character in Huxley's Brave New World is Mustapha Mond, one of the ten controllers of the world. Here is how the character is described by Barron's Notes:

Once a gifted scientist, the Controller made a conscious choice as a young man to become one of the rulers instead of a troublesome dissident. He is one of the few Utopians who can choose, who has free will, and this makes him more rounded and more attractive than most of the characters you'll meet in the book. It also makes him concerned with morality, but he uses his moral force and his sanity for the immoral and insane goals of the Utopia.

You see, at one time, Mond saw the evil intent of the elites and sought to challenge them. He was caught and was faced with one of two options: exile or become one of them. He chose the latter and, in a manner of speaking, sold his soul to the devil. Now he uses his great intellectual ability and passions to subjugate others.

We see this dynamic in our world today. From time to time, progressive reformers are elected to Congress and state legislatures. They go charging off to represent the needs of the people. Upon arrival at the seat of power, they come face-to-face with the entrenched corruption that dominates government. In no time at all, they find themselves faced with a hard choice: stick to their ideals or fall in line to benefit from the corruption they originally sought to overthrow.

If they stick to their principles, they know there is a good chance their time in office will be one-and-done. They will receive the most unappealing committee assignments possible. They will be excluded from important negotiations and, in many ways, their elected colleagues will treat them like something of a pariah.

So, what do most of them do? They give in to the allure and perks of power. They increase their populist rhetoric while, at the same time, tamping down on their commitment to work for progressive change. In essence, they choose to become part of the establishment that they campaigned against. They only worsen the problem of corruption, instead of working to defeat it.

And why do most of them cave in? Because standing alone is frightening. It takes a certain kind of indomitable character to speak truth to power and our society no longer celebrates the muckraker or whistleblower. So, most populist candidates these days opt to take the easier road.

This is one of the reasons the people are so turned off to politics. For years, we've supported one champion after another and almost every one of them has turned their backs on us once they've kissed the brass ring. They talk the talk, but, when push comes to shove, the don't walk the walk.

The character Mustapha Mond is so chilling because he, and many like him, occupy the White House and US Congress today!