Genetic Engineering In Brave New World

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Have you ever wished that you could change something about yourself? In the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, the author describes the benefits of genetic engineering in a utopian society. Technological advances such as genetic engineering can have a detrimental effect to life, if left in the wrong hands. However, in contrast, it could have a tremendous impact on society if used both properly and ethically. First, genetic engineering is one of the most powerful technologies presented in the novel, Brave New World. Children are born in hatcheries throughout the World State, where each child is given a role in their social caste system. The eggs go through a predestination system where lower classes go through processes to reduce their …show more content…
While this technology was built to eradicate genetic diseases such as sickle cell disease, many are using it as an opportunity to create their perfect child. As Professor Knoepfler of UC Davis says, “...a designer baby. You would be literally designing and producing a new type of baby via the same sort of technology that is used to make a GM [genetically modified] tomato…” (Knoepfler 1). Picking and choosing traits we want to see in our offspring is similar to the modifications in Brave New World. The heads of the state chose the best traits for the population, to allow for a stable and equal society. Selecting favorable traits in our children through programs like CRISPR is not very different from what took place in the novel, because once someone has the power to play G-d they have the ability to control society’s actions. Professor Silver of Princeton University predicts social caste system similar to Brave New World will arise, “ ‘(In a few hundred years) the GenRich who account for 10 percent of the American population (will) all carry synthetic genes… All aspects of the economy, the media, the entertainment industry, and the knowledge industry (will be) controlled by members of the GenRich class…. Naturals (will) work as low-paid service providers or
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