The Lottery' & Locke's Politics
Philosophy Now|April/May 2022
John P. Irish considers through an infamous lottery.
By John P. Irish. Illustrations by Miles Hyman
The Lottery' & Locke's Politics

On June 26 1948 Shirley Jackson (1916-65) published what may be the most infamous short story in American literature. Called ‘The Lottery’, it was featured in The New Yorker, and at the time became one of the most controversial pieces ever printed, resulting in the magazine receiving more hate mail and subscription non-renewals than anything else up to that point in its history. Even Jackson’s mother shared her dislike for the story with her daughter, claiming that the younger generation was too obsessed with violence.

The story is about a fictional small town in America which conducts an annual ritual known as ‘the lottery’, whose purpose is to choose a human sacrifice to be stoned to death to ensure the community’s well-being and continued prosperity. I have used the story many times in my American Studies classes – I typically use it as a way of introducing post-WWII American society – but it only recently struck me that this story can also be used to teach certain aspects of Locke’s social contract theory, as found in his Two Treatises of Government.

この記事は Philosophy Now の April/May 2022 版に掲載されています。

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この記事は Philosophy Now の April/May 2022 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

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