Have you ever noticed that the people who think the Brave New World universe is worse than ours are always the ones who live tremendously privileged lives already?
>>7776564
>privilege
>>>/r/books
>>7776564
People who have good lives are miserable, didn't DFW teach you that
also stop using that meme word, people who use the word privilege all the time don't know what the fuck it means
>>7776564
Ayup, I have indeed.
On a similar note, one of my least favorite things is talking to christians or atheists who tell me 'I would get bored in heaven because there's no challenge or struggle ya know?'
Or alternately 'no I could never accept a virtual reality paradise because it's not REAL, there's nothing at stake!'
And then these hypocrites go to their air conditioned homes and watch escapist media or partake in leisurely sporting competitions, completely unaware of the irony.
>>7776585
That's not true though, the happiest countries have high standards of living.
>>7776691
Scandinavian countries have very high living standards compared to the rest of the world, but they also has the highest use of antidepressants of any country
>>7776704
I'm not gonna pretend that I know why that is but my guess would be universal healthcare + the fucking darkness. Seriously, it's close to impossible not to get suicidal during the winters here.
Depression and suicide correlate with high happiness on a national level. Happy countries have more miserable people, as paradoxical as that sounds.
Might have something to do with feeling extra miserable by contrast, I guess.
>>7776564
...said the man who had never dreamt of being an individual.
>>7776775
Being isolated and alienated isn't something to be proud of, friend.
>>7776790
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.1.03.than.html
>>7776797
That kind of solitude serves the purpose of nót being an individual.
>>7776807
/lit/ isn't one person
>>7776821
Make like a rhino and fuck off then, mate.
Which drug is the most like Soma?
>>7776722
Scandinavian here (Denmark). I think it is more the culture desu. You can very easily become lonely here, where I would imagine it being different other places in the world. Not sure though.
Source: Father was depressed. my brother as well, me -- quite possibly depressed.
>>7776841
At least now you all have refugees with whom be friend
>>7776831
benzodiazepines
>>7776564
Lmao I'm not at all, but I'd rather suffer in this one. It's what I deserve.
>>7776831
Weed.
The only thing Huxley didn't anticipate was people stupefying themselves willingly.
>>7777911
So you do think our world is worse, you just like it that way.
>>7776564
Most people who have opinions about literature are privileged to be fair
>>7776831
MDMA, by far. In terms of its effects on the user, though. It also diminishes cognition significantly if abused, and very quickly at that. However, Soma seemed to be something that could be consumed time and time again without as much of sharply diminishing high as MDMA seems to bring.
In terms of its widespread abuse by the lower classes I would say alcohol. Weed is probably the middle ground between these the idea of Soma being something that is both pleasurable and widely used and therefore the most balanced parallel. Also without the diminishing "returns" that frequent MDMA use brings.
>>7777945
Judging by the effects of Soma in the book, it's almost certainly an opiate with a low physical addiction potential.
I like how that pharmaceutical company literally called one of their drugs Soma. Mocking us much?
>>7776596
At least you keep it real, man. Poor, virgin, nobody who gives a shit about you...Keeping it real, bro!
>>7777074
love it. no matter where you go on 4chan, refugee commentary finds a way. a law of the universe
>>7777993
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soma
>>7777921
Fucking this.
It is so funny how potheads are reaching cult levels of self-deception. Weed is the new opiate of the masses.
>>7778443
dude it's a plant relax
btw it cures cancer
>>7776704
I think Scandinavians just lie about how happy their are because they're too beta and insecure to admit they're depressed. Never met a Swede who wasn't depressed at some point or at that time.
>>7776564
> People who don't seek self actualization are happy in a universe where pleasures are priority and self actualization is frowned upon.
Man I wonder why.
>>7776564
I thought it was a beautiful society when I read it. I subscribe to the meme that we are moving closer to it now. The problem is that our indoctrination is so poor that it causes a lot of unnecessary misery when you become disillusioned. (most non-retards become disillusioned at some point in their lives I would guess). Better "education" and have state-controlled genetic/reproduction controls and we are in a much better spot.
>>7778443
Can you substantiate this? Many of the potheads I know have been the more individualistic people I've met. Certainly soma shares qualities with weed but in my experience the effect that a drug has on a person is greatly influenced by the nature and intention of the person themselves.
>>7776564
That's just untrue. I lived in a hammock and under a bridge for 7 years still thinking that you faggots who think brave new world is better than ours are all edgy little shit twenty year olds who literally are only attracted to the idea of uninhibited women in that book.
>>7776704
Literally nothing wrong with abusing antidepressants, life is shit and you have to cope with it some way.
>>7779261
SOMA pacifies its victims, and puts them into a state of euphoria. It's also consequence-free.
That's pretty much weed to me. SOMA's use wasn't to indoctrinate people; rather, it was simply to make them indifferent where they had previously been passionate (whether rebelling or otherwise).
I'm not anti-weed. My dad/sister/etc all smoke it. I don't, however; I've never saw the appeal. From what I *have* seen, however, it's one of the cheapest and easiest ways to pacify someone.
Not only that, but it seems frankly fucking enjoyable. People take it freely, which is one step further than SOMA which was used as a weapon.
Granted in your experience, those who use it may be more individualistic; the question is, what are they doing with that individualism? Those I know who take it care much more for getting their next blunt at the end of the day than changing the world.
>>7779908
They don't work. In double-blind tests, there's no noticeable difference between those taking anti-depressants and placebos.
>>7779920
which ones?
>>7779920
That study was found to be flawed.
>>7779149
The Chinese have the right idea I think. They're actively working on eugenics and genetic engineering in addition to not getting too liberal.
They're also turning life into a good boy RPG as we speak:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-34592186
>>7778443
You know the "opium of the people" thing was followed by "the heart of a heartless world", "the sigh of the oppressed creature" in the original quote, right? Same goes for weed or anything of that kind. I wouldn't blame people for escapism since there is fuckall to do in the 21st century
>>7779937
literally dystopic
>>7779948
As opposed to which other century? There's have never been so much to do as there is now.
>>7779149
Who's pictured? Moldbug?
>>7780281
>What is the paradox of choice?
>>7776585
>>7776691
dabrowski's theory of positive integration. look it up.
I think he is referring to what the lumpen-proletariat and bourgeoisie have in common. that they're so heavily socialized to maintain the status quo, and having so much motivation to do so, they are essentially barred from development as human beings.
>>7776704
the world is designed to cause stress. there is a great deal of research in the field. when you enter a supermarket, the specific lighting intensity, type of lighting, color of the walls, spacing of the shelves are intented to produce a stress response to maintain you in a constant state of activity so you dont clog up the store but rather keep wandering and wind up at the checkout with a bunch of stuff somehow even if you didnt want it. workplaces specifically use ergonomic theory to keep you stressed so that you dont lose focus, you keep working and working. antidepressants just help those who fit outside the normative parameters of stress thresholds so that they can participate in the normie world. this is why they're so heavily prescribed. well, that and the osterhoff case and their promotion as a panacea. they make your dick bigger and promise success in sex and business.
how much of /lit/ actually reads non-meme literature ffs? you should know all of this if you claim to read. the ulysees and gramsci are just primers so that you can go out and read the real lit that discusses, builds upon these and explores them, explaining the human experience to you from different perspectives.
>>7776831
none. Soma is a placeholder. it's just a thing that makes people happy. childhoods end employed these telepathic eggs that people used to get whatever their hearts desired.
>>7777921
tryue he didnt delve into the long term consequences of substance addiction and abuse. but he was writing a science fiction story. he was different than others for suggesting a utopia in science fiction. until then it had been assumed that everything would just be the same. pompeigraffitti.jpg
>>7778995
protagonist didnt seek self actualization. he was just crippled by his sense of loneliness and so became an edgelord to express his sense of isolation. you're forgetting that he was defective and everyone else was actually, really happy.
>>7776737
>Might have something to do with feeling extra miserable by contrast, I guess.
No, it's because owning a lot of material wealth does not necessarily make you happy.
That said, it's clearly better to cry in Ferrari than in a scrapheap.
>>7780881
and yet I have never heard of someone needing to live out of their ferrari and developping constant anxiety of homelessness afterwards.
>>7778046
kek'd
>>7780908
I haven't heard of that either, but that doesn't mean hasn't happened.
>>7780488
Bitch you guessed it.
>>7780857
I'm curious where to read about the stress and anti-depressant theories you put forth. Your examples seem odd, since I can't imagine high level corporate people at Target or something colluding to make a stressful storefront or workplace. If so, what force is making them do this?
If anything, the internet + smartphones together are "soma"
