To add a grain of salt to the story, Le Guin put in some of her political topics to this utopian vision – she adds free sex, and religion without temples or clergy: Or read it as a parable of first world exploitation of poorer countries: Think about all the children workers in the Lithium mines of D.R. For Trekkies, there is Spock’s often cited “Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” (cf. It can be understood as an argument against utilitarianism. The title concentrates on (one form of) the logical consequence that morale persons would take. It describes in vivid descriptions a philosophical concept which is an extension of William James’s essay The Moral Philosopher and the Moral Life (or Dostoyevsky’s Brothers Karamazov): a utopia which relies on the suffering of a single person can only be wrong. This story is no story, it has no plot, no main character, it is a critique of (American) moral life. And then, there are those who cannot stand it, the ones who walk away from Omelas. Most people live with this misery swept under the carpet. Everyone in Omelas knows about this sacrifice, but if anybody would care for the child, the utopia would be destroyed by some unknown force. But the easy living comes with a price: one single child is put away in a cellar, getting no attention at all, and lives a miserable life. Synopsis: The seaside city Omelas is a blissful and heavenly utopia: people are happy, there is no violence, or terror, things are good, The Festival of Summer is running.
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