In his “speech”, captain Beatty narrows the causes of society’s “evolution” down to technology, mass exploitation and minority pressure. According to him, the gradual reduction of books began, in part, because of the growing population and the sudden arrival of new technologies. On page 54 he says, “[…] The world was roomy. But then the world got full of eyes and elbows and mouths. Films and radios, magazines, books leveled down to a sort of pastepudding norm.” He then goes on to say that because of this increase in growth and demand, information had to be compressed and cut short. Since minorities were inevitable consequences of a big population, there was a loss of control over the amount of controversies. When Montag asked about the firemen, Beatty explained that everyone should be alike so that there would no longer be standards for people to judge themselves against. Aspirations are dangerous because they inspire people to push themselves and think differently. In Beatty’s mind, the resulting confusion outweighs these positives. I believe the government’s disapproval of books in Fahrenheit 451 comes from the fear that people would not be able to see that controversy and confusion should be avoided at all costs. Beatty gives several examples of this thinking when he says, “If you don’t want a man unhappy politically, don’t give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one” (pg. 61). Beatty suggests that getting rid of standards and literary works that upset people is the best path toward happiness. However, the reality is that only knowing one side of the story, or only having what (in theory) would make people happy, doesn’t leave them asking questions or wanting to know more; it doesn’t spark passion. All of the points given by Beatty are interesting to consider. They help the reader to understand the thinking behind the way society is run, makes them see the extent to which things had gone, and causes them to inquire over why having everything set up to be perfect can have the opposite effect.