Social Institutions of the World State Within Brave New World

„« Family

In the totalitarian society of Brave New World, the development of human beings is completely controlled by the World State. Each person is raised in a hatchery, where the government controls every stage of their development until maturity, a process that takes Two-hundred and sixty-seven days. The embryosЎ¦ DNA is controlled chemically to stimulate or to retard their physical and mental growth to create a biological class structure. The humanЎ¦s placement into a certain class, such as Alpha, Beta, etc., depends on their level of physical and mental Ў§perfection.ЎЁ The very notion of human reproduction without genetic purity (regular human birth) is viewed as dirty and illegal.

The hatcheries, including the use of hypnopaedia to teach and build Ў§values,ЎЁ have done away with the traditional nuclear family. The strict biological class structure, which influences the behavior and intellect of the humans within those classes, and psychological messages that are broadcast continually, replace the same process done by the parents of children of centuries past with a system of development that is faster and more efficient. Hypnopaedia also instills the people of the state with the knowledge of the different classes in the world and why it is best to be in the class you are in, guaranteeing that the masses comply with the situation they are placed in. Thinking as a whole class, rather than as individuals, eliminates overachieving and striving to better their lives so the State can better control the populace.

Because of the birthing system and views towards biological reproduction, marriage is not practiced. Since everyone Ў§belongsЎЁ to everyone else within a class, sexual coupling is encouraged without fear of commitment to any one individual, and it even helps the society prosper according to the World State.

„« Education

The entire educational process is provided by the World State during the period where human beings are developing within the hatcheries. This is mostly performed through Hypnopaedia, Ў§sleep-learning.ЎЁ By repeating phrases over and over while the children sleep, the State can condition each person to accept his role in the world around him and to behave in what is deemed as "safe." Other forms of education include sessions that are much like behavioral training of laboratory animals. For example, the dislike of roses and books is enforced through electric shock while they are still babies. Even sexual promiscuity is regular education for humans as soon as they reach puberty. Besides a specific classЎ¦ regular education, every person is conditioned to love Henry Ford, Soma, and sex above all else.

The knowledge of the different classes in the world and why it is best to be in the class you are in is implanted in the child's mind through hypnopaedia. Through the suggestions that make up the childhood of the adults in this society, the adults are "raised" by the leaders of the World State to think and act as they are told. This creates a society full of human clones, completely devoid of personality but ultimately viable members of the World StateЎ¦s society.

„« Religion

The World StateЎ¦s society pursues no spiritual experiences or joys, preferring carnal ones. The eternal search for joy that transcends the body, a search that many never reach the end of, has been replaced by the ease of physical pleasure that comes from uninhibited sexual freedom and Soma. The lack of a religion that seeks a transcendental understanding of existence ensures no one has a reason to rebel.

If there is a central Ў§godЎЁ of the World State, then that deity is Henry Ford, father of the assembly line. Without him, no such automation or efficiency could have been possible without his invention. He is revered so much that the love of Ford is taught to all humans during Hypnopaedia and the World StatesЎ¦ calendar is marked A.F. (After Ford) for the time after the development of his assembly line.

The only rituals they do have, if that, are orgies. What begins as an attempt to reach a higher level of understanding as a community