A postemotional analysis of Brave New World: HRD as unwitting collaborator or critical agent?

Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1932 as a cautionary tale of the implications of totalitarianism, technology, capitalism, and mass media. The hallmarks of the futuristic society in Brave New World can be seen in Mestrovic’s critical theory of postemotionalism. Mestrovic argues that our society has slipped into a state in which emotions have been manipulated to such an extent that we now face a “bland, mechanical, mass produced yet oppressive ethic of niceness” (Mestrovic, 1997). If what Mestrovic argues is true, then we may have indeed become the brave new world. But what role does HRD play in the creation or maintenance of such a society? I break the silence for HRD professionals by challenging us to confront our role either as unwitting collaborators in the construction of this brave new world or as critical agents that help engage others in resisting the postemotional brave new world.