Both Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and P.D. James's The Children of Men are British dystopian novels, but unlike most dystopias, these books feature populations that are happy and content with the autocratic governments that rule them. In Brave New World, the people have been conditioned to love their situation in life and live primarily for pleasure. In The Children of Men, the aging population is mostly concerned with being comfortable and are largely apathetic about what their government is doing. In both of these novels, the people are threatened by their own complacency and desire for comfort rather than by an outside force.

Because they live in such comfortable societies, these novels feature reluctant protagonists who hesitate to bring change to their present conditions. Theo does not believe that there is any good in hoping for a change in government and is very cynical of the ideals of the Five Fishes. Though Bernard thinks he's different from the rest of the people around him, his relationship with John Savage demonstrates that he too primarily desires comfort and pleasure and is unwilling to bring change to benefit society.

Children and childbirth are major themes in both The Children of Men and Brave New World. Both novels depict societies where there are no children born. In The Children of Men, it is because all men have become sterile. In Brave New World, it is because children are manufactured in test tubes rather than by traditional birth. However, there are differences in how childbirth is perceived. In James's novel, childbirth is longed for. Julian's pregnancy is seen as a miracle and gives hope that mankind might not become extinct. In Huxley's novel, childbirth is considered vulgar and disgusting. Linda is ostracized because she is a mother. To be called a mother is a despicable thing. This may be one of the greatest differences between the novels.

What are the similarities and differences between The Children of Men and Brave New World?

Both of these works are set in a futuristic dystopian society in England. In both cases, human reproduction has been eliminated: In Brave New World, children are created in test tubes while mass infertility has stymied reproduction in The Children of Men. Both societies deal with the result of some cataclysmic event which has resulted in an authoritarian style of rule. Democracy is no more.

However, in Brave New World, the population does not seem to realize the mind and behavior control under which they must submit. Lifetimes of conditioning have taught them to love their world and their place in it. Nothing disrupts this stability even though some individuals, Bernard and Helmholtz as examples, internally feel ostracized for their individual feelings and beliefs.  

In The Children of Men, society is much darker. People are exploited, forced into labor and routine medical exams, and the ominous presence of the State Secret Police.

For both works, the catalyst for change is the introduction, or birth, of an outsider. In Brave New World, this character is John, a child born in a Savage Reservation and brough to the new world as an adult. His disgust with the society cannot be reconciled, and he eventually commits suicide while Bernard and Helmoltz are exiled. Here, society continues as is.

Ironically, hope exists in the darker society of The Children of Men. The "outsider" here is a newly born baby. While the Omegas were once believed to be the last generation of humanity, this birth provides hope. It allows Theo to gain control with the promise of a brigher future.