He also questions British attitudes towards socialism. The second half of the book consists of a long essay on Orwell’s own middle-class upbringing and how his political thoughts developed. We read about miners who had to crawl three miles, unpaid through tunnels before even beginning their shift. In the first half, Orwell documents his investigations into the despicable living conditions of the working class in Lancashire and Yorkshire. The Road to Wigan Pier is split into two halves. If you want to gain a striking and precise vision of the dangers governments pose, read 1984today. In January 2017, the book shot unexpectedly to the top of Amazon bestseller list. What’s particularly intriguing about 1984 is that it hasn’t just stood the test of time, it’s improved over time. The plot has served as the basis for many sci-fi films since its release in 1948, but there is nothing quite like reading Orwell himself. In the story, the dystopian government will do anything to control the narrative of the society. We have written about George Orwell’s opposition to totalitarianism, Stalinism, fascism, and social injustice many times on HighExistence. In 1984, Orwell’s most well known book, he paints a truly chilling prophecy about the future. The problem with this vision, however, is that it would come at a cost that is too high to pay: the reduction of that inexpressible thing that makes us human. With his literary genius’ imagination, Huxley successfully paints an interpersonal, futuristic technotopia, with all the ingredients our impulse-driven minds desires. Huxley’s Brave New World is the utopia nobody in their right mind would want to live in. Martijn Schirp, the co-founder of HighExistence, had this to say about the book: The story is set in a technologically-advanced future where human beings are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order-all at the cost of our freedom, full humanity, and perhaps also our souls. Brave New World by Aldous HuxleyĪldous Huxley was a genius of incomparable talents: an artist, spiritual enthusiast, and laser-eyed observer of the human condition. Trigger warning: These are the most terrifying books I have encountered.
It was heavily influenced by the authors of all the books listed below. I wrote number thirteen, Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief. Here is a list of books that I found particularly influential in my intellectual development. Many people have written to me asking what they should read to properly educate themselves.
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