Huxley and Orwell

Recently there's been this interesting article comparing the distopias of Huxley and Orwell and if our current world is like either of them. I get asked all the time what the point of reading literature is, and I think this is a good example of the argument that literature allows us to explore ideas that have very real-world applications.
The only problem I have with this article is the assumption that "new world order" is all that new. When I look back into history, I think about the control that states had on their subjects, especially marginalized subjects (women, slaves, etc.). Although I agree that recent leaps in technology have allowed for more effective control, I cannot think of a clear moment in history where individuals were truly as free as this article implies.