When we had to study, amongst others, Orwell's
1984, and Huxley's
Brave New World for English Lit 'O'-level, we were still living under the shadow of being one generation on from the end of WW2.
I don't know if they were on the reading list to prime us on how such horrors might come about and how they might end, or simply because they were very compelling reads, with multiple levels of depth (to us at that age), that would thus make good exam fodder.
I don't recall ever whilst reading them thinking 'Oh heavens, this could be where our society might end up'. In some ways it was more akin to.... er, rather grave science fiction set on the future earth, with personal elements that you could directly relate to.
It's interesting now looking back and considering how society has evolved since the 70s. I'm not suggesting re: just SG (and where this topic above ^^ has got to), I'm talking about anywhere that can afford, at a state level, to initiate mass surveillance, varying levels of 'social conditioning', and so on. Both books appear on many 'Top-100' lists, and I'd recommend them to anyone who enjoys a thought-provoking read, as none too lengthy or heavy classics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four
[Published 1949]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_New_World
[Published 1932]
That was right when they first crossed my radar, nice!
