In High School, we did a unit on science fiction. I've never been a fan, even though I'm aware of there being great stories out there. Back in year 10, one class got to do Brave New World by Huxley, while I was resigned to The Chrysalids by Wyndham. The unit formed my earliest experiences of science fiction novels and I have since been reluctant to read them.

I'm a little older and wiser and have been studying communications. I've just finished reading The Communist Manifesto by Marx and earlier this year I was reading Selling the Work Ethic by Beder. As I read Brave New World, there are positives and negatives that keep coming to mind about its inclusion in curriculum.

I have no problem with sexual content. The more the merrier, but my experience of English and Social Studies at high school was such that it didn't give me sufficient grasp of the concepts I would be able to find within the book. Having been scaffolded by my previous learning experiences, I was able to fall in love with the material and appreciate the varied levels of irony and meaning.

First, let us consider the treatment of the human body as a public good. Bizarre as this idea might seem, especially to some libertarians, it isn't really that crazy. When we insist that individuals live a certain lifestyle and that parents take care of their kids in a certain way, are we not making those decisions on the basis of our interest in the collective? When we think about public goods like the air we breathe, water, public transport, and so on, the philosophy is that all people give and take according to their needs.

Treating the body as public property could also make sense when you consider that all people have an impact on each other. Consider the Harem Effect, where menstrual cycles will line up, or the way that social groups help craft our identities. Even population density has a huge impact on our own personal freedoms and moods. When we legislate to modify behaviour, are we not treating our individual identities as public goods?

In contemporary society, the human body is private property under regulation by the state. In the pursuit of wealth we are encouraged to compete with one another and we are held responsible for the poor choices we make in managing it.

In many ways, there are advantages to both approaches to property. Public goods, like libraries or education, promote opportunities for more than the select few. Competition among private interests can promote satisfaction from the end user. Of course, the less competition, the more an entity should be treated as a public good and be regulated by the state.