Original artwork, not a still
Brave New World · 1932
The World State's motto, Brave New World (1932)
Community, Identity, Stability.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Three nouns that sound like a corporate or government slogan, and each one names something the novel's people have paid for. Community means nobody is ever alone, identity means a caste and a batch number, stability means no one can want what the machine does not supply. Readers quote it as shorthand for a comfortable society that has traded the individual away, and it hangs over the first page like a sign on a door.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Brave New WorldShow the scene
The World State's motto appears in the first chapter of Brave New World (1932), displayed on a shield above the entrance to the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre, the building the novel opens on. Soon after, the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning shows a group of students around and cites it as the planetary motto, delighted by the cloning process that turns one egg into as many as ninety-six identical twins working ninety-six identical machines. Mustapha Mond, the World Controller for Western Europe, later defends the same ideal of community, identity and stability to John the Savage.
Sources (3)
- Wikiquote: Brave New Worldsection Chapter 1Reference checked
- Wikiquote: Opening linesentry for Brave New World by Aldous HuxleyReference checked
- Wikipedia: Brave New WorldPlot; CharactersReference checked
Context reviewed
