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Dramatic Irony
Chapter 16
Explanation and Analysis—Labor:
Over the course of Chapter 16, Mustapha Mond attempts to rationalize the existence of the totalitarian regime, arguing that the only way to eliminate suffering is to impose a caste system and exercising complete control over the population. Mond's argument is rife with logical fallacies, the most prominent being that industry must be curtailed for the benefit of humanity:
"The Inventions Office is stuffed with plans for labour-saving processes. Thousands of them.’ Mustapha Mond made a lavish gesture. ‘And why don’t we put them into execution? For the sake of the labourers; it would be sheer cruelty to afflict them with excessive leisure."
If the labor-saving technology Mond references in this excerpt were implemented, no lower caste in the social hierarchy would have to be made for the purpose of generating laborers. The former condition does not justify the latter, but rather invalidates it. The existence of this totalitarian regime cannot be, wholly and without question, an implicit justification for its continuation. If the population is subdued, propagandized, drugged, and never taught how to properly reason, the logical fallacies this state rests upon will never be questioned. This is why totalitarian regimes need to exercise such tight control over how their citizens think: if the state is interrogated at all, its shoddy logic will immediately fall apart.
Related Themes:
Chapter 17
Explanation and Analysis—Circular Reasoning:
In Chapter 17, Mustapha Mond discusses civilization with John in a conversation that contains multiple logical fallacies. Most, if not all, of these fallacies originate from Mond, who uses illogical rationale in an attempt to defend the current civilization he controls:
"‘Degrade him from what position? As a happy, hard-working, goods-consuming citizen he’s perfect. Of course, if you choose some other standard than ours, then perhaps you might say he was degraded. But you’ve got to stick to one set of postulates. You can’t play Electro-magnetic Golf according to the rules of Centrifugal Bumble-puppy.’
Mond argues that a person cannot be degraded because they have already been degrade—if you get rid of books, no one will need to read books. This is clearly illogical and circular: no new information is added, and his premise remains the same as his conclusion.
This form of circular logic is common within oppressive, totalitarian states. In such societies, the existence of the state must justify its own existence and actions. In order to maintain the never-ending cycle of this rhetoric, nothing from the outside can be allowed in. Totalitarian states need to exercise strict control over their populations, because if outside logic is allowed to penetrate the cycle, the internal logic that holds the oppressive state together will break down. As a controller, Mustapha Mond understands and implements this principle.
Related Themes:
