Big Brother & Pynchon

[joeallonby]

on 4/30/04 5:25 PM, neoclassical at mail.com at neoclassical at mail.com wrote:

>>> Huxley is more important than Orwell :) in that ultimately, the
>>> authoritarian
>>> state of the future will be gratefully selected by its population.
>> 
>> Hasn't it always been that way? Trading individual freedom for stability?
>> "We need a strong leader!" Monarchy, fascism, and communism as it has been
>> practiced by large nations require a cult of personality. Nationalist
>> movements are often fiercely patriotic AND authoritarian. The neo-communists
>> and neo-fascists of Eastern Europe are nostalgic for the stability of the
>> bipolar distribution of power of the cold war.
>> 
>> Jefferson & co were making a huge leap in the eighteen century. It was a
>> leap of faith. They had faith in us. Sounds like you want to let them down.
> 
> Their "leap of faith" also included warnings against the symptoms I mentioned,
> namely self-congratulatory moralism. Further, what is important about Huxley
> is that he points out that their "leap of faith" may transfer unrealistic
> expectations that lead to a worse fate than the ideas of the traditional "bad
> guys" around here. Orwell identified an external enemy; Huxley pointed out the
> enemy within (not surprisingly, Huxley had studied ancient philosophy.)
> 
So, you're suggesting...