Dystopian Literature and Classical Social Theory: Aldous Huxley and Max Weber’s Elective Affinities

This article considers what might be learnt from revisiting classical social theory in the context of contemporary utopian studies. More specifically, it returns to the early twentieth century and to the work of Max Weber in order to consider how Weber’s profound reflections on the themes of asceticism, religion, human excellence, and science might be used to reframe and reevaluate a classic dystopian text whose concerns can be seen to overlap with those of Weber, namely, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. By placing Huxley and Weber into dialogue, the article sheds new light on aspects of Huxley’s novel, including its treatment of the role of the ascetic ideal within modern culture, the status and value of modern science, and the relationship of each of these to the pursuit of existential meaning. In doing so, the article demonstrates the relevance of classical social theory to the analysis of dystopian literature.