One of my favorite books is still "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley (written in the 1930's I think). The world he wrote about was pain-free, and with any problem you could take a "Soma" pill.
Same with your great summary here, Tom, of Greenleaf's ideas. Many of the characters in the novel considered lack of conflict and responsibility was a heaven on earth. The last sane guy commits suicide in the final chapter because of the lack of growth and depth.
Chris,
Thanks for sharing the great connection to Aldous Huxley. I read his book "The Brave New World" a year or so ago after coming across mention of Greenleaf's connections to Huxley. In Don Frick's biography of Greenleaf, he writes about Greenleaf reading another of Huxley's books "The Doors of Perception", which was about Huxley's experiences with the use of the hallucinogenic drug mescaline. Greenleaf was later introduced to Huxley and went on to experiment with LSD. For Greenleaf it was apparently an experience of consciousness raising that changed the way he experienced the world. Your connection puts a whole other twist on this post.
Tom
That's a fascinating story. I didn't realize there was a Greenleaf-Huxley connection. It probably goes without saying that Huxley's research into mescaline and LSD was thoughtful and philosophical, not a party atmosphere. At that time (1950s and early 1960s) I don't believe either drug was illegal.
YOu've got me interested. I need to now reread "Island," which was Huxley's last book (around 1963). It's been decades since I've read it. The Island was a sort of spiritual utopia (which included discrete use of a mescaline-like drug.) As I vaguely remember now, it maybe was kind of a servant-leadership utopia also.
Chris,
I read Island right after New World hoping to gain some insights into what the world could be.
It's pretty interesting the connections that Greenleaf had. If there was anybody that had some servant leadership tendancies, Greenleaf probably knew them.
Tom
Tom,
Wikipedia has a "Greenleaf-ish" quote from Huxley's foreword to "Island"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isl...and_%28novel%
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"...And the prevailing philosophy of life [on the Island] would be a kind of Higher Utilitarianism....the first question to be asked and answered in every contingency of life being: 'How will this thought or action contribute to, or interfere with, the achievement, by me and the greatest possible number of other individuals....?'"
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