Ursula K. Le Guin - The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas (1973)

This short story appears to be a variation of the trolley problem in philosophy. Is the utopian happiness of an entire village worth the sacrifice of one miserable child? Does it help that everyone understands the child’s misery, and in fact is the reason for their perspective? What does it mean when people leave the village, never to return?

I think the silent departure of these people is very meaningful. First, they do not inform anyone as to why they are leaving, for fear of bursting the bubble and making the village aware that what they are doing is wrong. Second, it seems to resemble the plight of the immigrant - how does one tell their home place that it is deeply flawed in a way that is irredeemable and impossible to fix?

There is so much to unpack in just five pages.

https://files.libcom.org/files/ursula-k-le-guin-the-ones-who-walk-away-from-omelas.pdf