When Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World was published in 1932, the world, then as now, had faced financial boom and bust. Huxley infamously depicted a frightening 'dystopia' of a single world state in which enforced global values eliminated the need for competitiveness. It was a peculiarly British revolt against American capitalism, tapping into European anxieties and satirising homogeneity, predictability, consumerism and mass production. The public image of today's bankers may hold similarities with the 'hedonistic nihilism' of Huxley's vision, as columnist Christopher Hitchens once described it. But then, things havebecome pretty skewed. Today, we want American capitalism to help save us from recession. We want diversity not homogeneity, competition not protectionism, mass production not empty factories. But we also want consumerism though not profligacy, predictability not uncertainty and - somewhat desperately - homogeneous global values in an interconnected economic 'world state'.
展开▼
机译：当阿尔杜斯·赫d黎（Aldous Huxley）的小说《勇敢的新世界》（Brave New World）于1932年出版时，当时和现在一样，世界正面临着金融繁荣和萧条的时期。赫x黎臭名昭著地描绘了一个单一世界国家的可怕“反乌托邦”，在这个世界国家中，强制执行的全球价值观消除了对竞争力的需求。这是英国人特别反抗美国的资本主义，发动了欧洲的焦虑，讽刺了同质性，可预测性，消费主义和大规模生产。正如专栏作家克里斯托弗·希钦斯（Christopher Hitchens）曾经描述的那样，当今银行家的公众形象可能与赫x黎的愿景的“享乐主义虚无主义”相似。但是后来，事情变得很不正确了。今天，我们希望美国的资本主义能够帮助我们摆脱衰退。我们要多样性而不是同质化，竞争不是保护主义，大规模生产不是空工厂。但是，我们也希望消费主义虽然不是挥霍无度，可预测性而不是不确定性，并且在某种相互联系的经济“世界状态”下，甚至是拼命的全球价值。
展开▼
