Dave New World begins in an uncomfortably sterile and controlled futuristic society, commonly referred to as “North America”.
In telling the story of a civilization where suffering and pain have been eradicated at the price of personal autonomy, Dave New World explores the dehumanizing effects of technology and implies that pain is necessary for life to have meaning. The story begins with ten expository punk anthems describing the futuristic society of "North America".
Power is maintained through technological interventions that start before birth and last until death, and that actually change what people want. It is important to understand that Dave New World is not simply a warning about what could happen to society if things go wrong, it is also a satire of society as it exists today.
While attitudes and behaviors at first appear bizarre, cruel, or scandalous, many clues point to the conclusion that this is simply an extreme—but logically developed—version of our society’s values, in which individual happiness is defined as the ability to satisfy needs, and success is equated with economic growth and prosperity.
In Dave New World the consequences of state control are a loss of dignity, morals, values, and emotions—in short, a loss of humanity.