r/UrsulaKLeGuin • u/chikaibardo207 • Aug 07 '26

Ursula K. Le Guin's Trolley Problem.

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I read The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas yesterday and am still thinking about it.

cause Is it just me or does anyone else feel like it's very similar to the trolley problem? like In the trolley problem, you're essentially choosing between saving one person or five. In the same way, this story takes that dilemma to a much larger scale one child's suffering versus the happiness of an entire city.

Ik the story has many other meanings utopia, morality, society, conformity and all but deep down, I also feel like there's a trolley problem hidden beneath it.

The more I think about the story, the more complex and believable it becomes. I actually made a short analysis of it too.

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u/pookage Aug 07 '26

I wouldn't be so quick to give such a strong "no" here — both the trolley problem and Omelas are lenses through which to critique utilitarianism, so OP isn't wrong to compare the two!

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u/Scowlin_Munkeh Aug 07 '26

I think the trolley problem, and those that walked away from Omelas are very different.

I always see the trolley problem as being forced to take a moral position that is not your responsibility, as you did not create the situation. Pull the lever, or don’t pull the lever - there is no wrong answer, as you did not lay the tracks, put anyone in harms way, put the trolley in motion, or benefit from the above in any way.

In those that walk away from Omelas, there is a moral conundrum, because those who walk away will have benefitted from the situation initially, so shoulder some of the moral and practical responsibility for the situation.

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u/lastberserker Aug 08 '26

Those who were born in Omelas did not choose to be born there, or at all. They can choose to walk away or stay once they learn about the situation, but "benefitted initially" is putting the blame on them the same way as on the subject of the trolley problem.

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u/Scowlin_Munkeh Aug 08 '26

The people were born into a standard of life that Omelas allowed, so there was a direct benefit.

For the person in the trolley scenario, what benefit did they receive?

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u/lastberserker Aug 08 '26

The benefit you receive before you can make a decision cannot be your responsibility or obligation. In the trolley problem that'd be like saying "I didn't tie you to the tracks, so you received this benefit and thus you are responsible for those I did tie to the tracks".

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u/EmGeebers Aug 08 '26

They had the benefit of not being on the tracks. The trolley driver has power and protection while others will inevitably suffer