Alex has spent a fortnight undergoing the Ludovico technique, and he is now the subject of a public demonstration. He shows himself incapable of violence, and moreover he is incapable of defending himself from a physical attack. His "self-preservation circuit", so to speak, has been "disconnected". Also, his conditioning is such that sex now repels him.
After explaining how the conditioning treatment has made Alex incapable of physical violence, the Minister of the Interior asks for questions. The prison chaplain stands and approaches the stage.
From the film:
Prison Chaplain: Choice! The boy has not a real choice, has he? Self-interest, the fear of physical pain drove him to that grotesque act of self-abasement. The insincerity was clear to be seen. He ceases to be a wrongdoer. He ceases also to be a creature capable of moral choice.Minister: Padre, these are subtleties! We are not concerned with motives, with the higher ethics. We are concerned only with cutting down crime and with relieving the ghastly congestion in our prisons. He will be your true Christian, ready to turn the other cheek, ready to be crucified rather than crucify, sick to the heart at the thought of killing a fly. Reclamation! Joy before the angels of God! The point is that it works.
From the novel:
"Very hard ethical questions are involved," he went on. "You ... are to be made into a good boy, 6655321. Never again will you have the desire to commit acts of violence or to offend in any way whatsoever against the State's Peace. I hope you take all that in. I hope you are absolutely clear in your own mind about that." (2.3.11)
"It may not be nice to be good, little 6655321. ... It may be horrible to be good. And when I say that to you I realize how self-contradictory that sounds. I know I shall have many sleepless nights about this. What does God want? Does God want goodness or the choice of goodness? Is a man who chooses the bad perhaps in some ways better than a man who has the good imposed upon him? Deep and hard questions…" (2.3.13)
"Very hard ethical questions are involved," he went on. "You ... are to be made into a good boy, 6655321. Never again will you have the desire to commit acts of violence or to offend in any way whatsoever against the State's Peace. I hope you take all that in. I hope you are absolutely clear in your own mind about that." (2.3.11)
*
*
*
"Choice," rumbled a rich deep goloss. I viddied it belonged ... to the prison charlie. "He has no real choice, has he? Self-interest, fear of physical pain, drove him to that grotesque act of self-abasement. Its insincerity was clearly to be seen. He ceases to be a wrongdoer. He ceases also to be a creature capable of moral choice."
"These are subtleties," like smiled Dr. Brodsky. "We are not concerned with motive, with the higherethics. We are concerned only with cutting down crime--" (2.7.13-14)
*
You are passing now to a region where you will ... be beyond the reach of the power of prayer. A terrible terrible thing to consider. And yet, in a sense, in choosing to be deprive of the ability to make an ethical choice, you have in a sense really chosen the good. So I shall like to think. So, God help us all…" (2.3.13)
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Keep in mind Alex is a depraved psychopath. His facial expressions and displeasure as the chaplain speaks clearly show the treatment has not cured his psychopathy, but merely have programed his behavior. At the same time, note his positive response to the Minister's words. Notwithstanding the "fun" and satirical aspects of McDowell's madcap performance and Kubrick's clever and very careful direction, the character is a complete monster.
His willingness to subject himself to the treatment can itself be considered the act of a psychopath. (Indeed, what are young people entering the professions willing to endure to enter their chosen fields? Indeed, are educational administrators and programmers studying such questions?)
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