I see this story as a kind of thought experiment about the way in which societies treat minority groups. There have been many societies that felt the oppression of a minority was justified, or even necessary, in exchange for the greater good of the society. This story takes that idea to its logical extreme: a perfect society, with unlimited health and happiness for all, in exchange for the complete and utter oppression and degradation of the smallest possible minority -- a minority of one. Is it still justified? The people who feel it is not are "the ones who walk away from Omelas."
eeZah7Ux|8 years ago
"have been"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_inequality