Brave New World is an interesting dystopic story. I think the most interesting aspects of the Brave New World society are the ones that are like ours. One of those things is soma. The idea of soma may have seemed outlandish to people back in 1930’s England but it’s not that weird now. Nowadays it’s very common to hear about people abusing drugs to change their mood. MDMA, weed, PCP, Heroin, cocaine, shrooms and lean, are just some drugs of varying severity that people use. While drugs have been a thing for a very long time and were certainly around in the 1930s when Brave New World was written I think that they have become much more of a cultural phenomenon now. Some public figures, particularly newer rappers, often talk about using these drugs. Take for example “Little Xan” who is named from Xanax. Drugs are also featured in movies, and just about any other media we have today. These drugs are taken illegally to alter the moods of people and take them on a euphoric vacation like Soma does in Brave New World.
However, a lot of those drugs don’t really fix the problems that soma fixes in the book. Soma is supposed to take care of bad thoughts and returns the user to a state of happiness. Lots of the drugs above even when you’re taking them are said to make people feel paranoid and not the state of happiness soma puts people in. Instead of those drugs, we have anti-depressants which don’t fully take care of bad thoughts, but they help. Soma also doesn’t seem to fully take care of many recurring thoughts like in Lenina’s case. So it seems like anti-depressants operate similarly to soma. However, anti-depressants don’t provide this out of body vacation that Soma does so it's not a real Soma alternative. In the 1930’s the knowledge on mental health treatment wasn’t anywhere near as advanced as it is today, so it is safe to say that drugs like this are more part of the social consciousness than they would have been in the 1930s.
Currently, there doesn't exist a drug like soma but some of the things that soma is said to do can be seen in other drugs. Soma is much more of a real thing for us than it would have been for readers back in the 1930s as we are living in a world with real anti-depressants. We might not even that far away from a world with Soma. Not to start sounding too crazy or anything but the government has a history of trying to use drugs to alter the minds of people with shady projects like MKULTRA so it's not even unheard of for the government to try to produce drugs to control people, so its not inconceivable to see something like Soma appear soon.
Grant Hoey
Soma was really interesting to me too. If such a drug was invented, what would be the ethics around its use? Would the government allow it to be used recreationally, like in BNW? Or would they ban it due to its life shortening side-effects (even though they have no issue with other things that have similar effects). Would it be used to help treat mental illness? I don't really know, but it seems interesting to think about.
ReplyDeleteI think that soma would be frowned upon in our society because of the life shortening side-effects. We place drugs that help but also do damage in a last resort category.
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting, and I think you're right that on some level we have a culture where drugs are used as temporary solutions to more serious problems. I guess it's different in BNW just because soma is actively encouraged, even forced upon, the entire population. In BNW soma is basically a tool used by the government to control and pacify the population, and that's pretty scary.
ReplyDeleteI think that the closest thing that we have to soma is opium. The use of opium is definitely frowned upon, unlike soma in BNW, but they both provide the feeling of numbness and artificial happiness. However, soma doesn't seem to have the detrimental health effects that come with things like opium and marijuana which may explain why it is more widely accepted in BNW's society.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Dante. I think that something like Soma would only be used as a last resort and perhaps in situations where the pain/sadness relieving aspects of the drug are preferable to an early death. For example in hospice, our society might accept soma. However, just like any other drug in our society, most likely it would be looked down upon outside of these scenarios.
ReplyDeleteThat could certainly be the case, but there are also shocking statistics about the damage and loss of life that Opioids can cause. According to a study done by The Ohio Alliance for Innovation in Population Health Opioid overdose accounted for 519,471 years of life lost from citizens from 2010-2016. So I don't know if I agree that it would be used as a last resort as Opioids are prescribed daily.
DeleteSource: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180615154426.htm
I find the ethics of if soma were to be invented really interesting. As multiple people pointed out, its use would be seen as something of a last resort, at least in the beginning. However, people would probably find a way around that, as they do with many other drugs. I don't know that its use would ever be state-sanctioned, particularly not to the amount that John's mother uses it, which is frowned upon even in the context of BNW's society.
ReplyDeleteI agree that soma is likely some sort of metaphor, or at least has a parallel in real life. Perhaps, though, as I talk about in my blog, the equivalent in real life has nothing to do with actual drugs, but merely acts by governments to subdue and control their people
ReplyDeleteYour comparison of culture in the 1930s as opposed to now is really interesting, I didn't think too much about how differently we perceive drugs today. I'm actually very curious what the response to soma was back when Brave New World was first published, I'm sure that there was a wide variety of different opinions. It would also be interesting to revisit the book a couple decades into the future, and see how cultural changes will further shift our perspective on soma.
ReplyDeleteI think that if there is a rise in government sponsored mind-altering drug use in the near future, it might be a response to mass unemployment due to automation and artificial intelligence. The government might use drugs to keep calm a population who is restless from having no work to do.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think that using drugs only delays problems as opposed to actually solving them. If you're sad and you start drinking or smoking, you're just going to be sad after the effects wear off. Additionally, I hope a drug like soma is never created. We'd lose all power to fight for our rights and become complacent in society. There would be little to no innovation, and it would be a really dark time for society.
ReplyDeleteThere is definitely a very solid argument for a drug like soma becoming a major detriment to our society. People could become a lot less productive, and governments could have their way with a complacent population. But I think it's an interesting thought experiment to wonder whether we would be happier just taking soma when we get depressed. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating for this, but would this achieve happiness? What is the price we are willing to pay for happiness, and is happiness the goal of life?
ReplyDeleteDrugs like soma can only provide society temporary happiness. That's the harsh truth about drugs in general. It can provide you a transient escape from reality, but sooner or later, the drug's effects will fade away. The role of soma in the World State shows how society shouldn't depend on such a dangerous drug.
ReplyDeleteI think an interesting parallel is the likening of clinically prescribed drugs (Adderall or other medications) to fix "problems" like ADHD and depression. Although these drugs don't "cure" anything, they can help symptoms. However, they have unforeseen side effects. I would personally say these are the closest thing to soma we have today.
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