Huxley

             Aldous Huxley creates a new world in his work and lets his imagination run free to develop his ideas and theories. Island is unique compared to common novels due to its detailed description and exploration of unknown territory. It seems almost scary, if you will, as a reader to picture one self living in this society such as this one. The goal of forming this new environment was to in fact construct the "perfect" civilization. The people appear to live controlled lives, like robots. They are assigned their occupations according to their temperament and physical ability. The people of Pala live solely to fulfill their happiness and grow individually; it is as if they have no real purpose. Life revolves around both sex and consciousness in this world. Everyone in this culture practices exercises and takes a special drug to enhance both of these highlights.
             Berry's novel The Great Work based on understanding the world around us feels closer along the lines of Huxley's work that Rifkin's ideas. Berry believes mankind must be one with nature and not destroy it. He believes people will be most happy that way and lead a "perfect" life. Berry would agree with Huxley when it came to not exploiting the land and its resources for personal gain and general profit. However they still differ because in The Great Work, people are not controlled as robots living without a sense of freedom.
             Rifkin may have a more negative response towards Huxley's work due to one obvious ideal the two authors do not share. That is, once again, the use of natural resources to drive the economy up. It is clear that Rifkin would despise the choice not to develop oil reserves and industrialize the island from his ideas in "The Architects of the Mechanical World View." It seems that Rifkin is interested only in humanity being like a machine, striving for constant growth and development. In his eyes, individuals must create their own meaning and build their happiness using nature.