Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is a utopian and negative science fiction novel. The masses have access to vast amounts of pleasure. Sex, drugs and various other indulgences are easily available to anyone. However, society remains a negative utopia. People are stripped of whatever passions they may have, real science remains stagnant, and people cannot live beyond sixty. But the citizens of the novel still seem to rejoice, even those of the lower castes. This is because the government of Brave New World gives them no choice but happiness. In the real world not everyone is happy. Happiness in the real world is subjective. Not everyone in the world would be satisfied with a night of intercourse and a dose of soma. But everyone (except John and Helmholtz) in the novel is more than satisfied with it. This is because happiness is the product of one's conditioning. Human beings have an innate propensity to achieve happiness. Abraham Maslow outlined the stages of human motivation. According to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the first and most fundamental stage is "physiological" (i.e. food, water, shelter). The second phase is “safety” (i.e. freedom from fear and pain). The third phase is “belonging” (i.e. family, friends, love). The fourth phase is “self-esteem” which implies achievement and respect. The final stage is “self-realization” or a sense of fulfillment in life. According to Maslow, human beings try to reach their current stage of the hierarchy. When one stage is satisfied the person will move on to the next. In Maslow's pyramid “self-actualization” is almost synonymous with the Merriam-Webster definition of happiness which is “a state of well-being and contentment” (Def 2a. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Web. 2014). Reach your fifth......middle of the card......ess. It's all relative. Works Cited Cherry, Kendra. "Introduction to Classical Conditioning." About.com Psychology. About.com and Web. 01 April 2014. .Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: HarperPerennial, 1998. Print.Lu, Luo, and Robin Gilmour. "CULTURE AND CONCEPTIONS OF HAPPINESS: INDIVIDUALLY ORIENTED AND SOCIALLY ORIENTED SWB." Journal of Happiness Studies 5 (2004): 269-91. College of Management of National Taiwan University. Network. March 30, 2014. .McLeod, Saulo. “Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.” Simply psychology. Np, 2007. Web. 03 April 2014. .Myers, David G. Psychology. 5th ed. New York: WORTH, 1998. Print.