Fiction

I'm often asked why we don't use more fiction to teach in the Associate Program. Part of it is that we'd have to give up some awesome non-fiction work that directly connects to Science of Liberty^TM. However, I think the other part is that putting together a great line up of fiction that would lend itself to nuanced topics is tough.

Currently, I can only think of very obvious choices: Ender's Game, Atlas Shrugged, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451. Do you know of any great fiction books (or plays) that might connect with Science of Liberty concepts? The trick is to find a piece of work that people would read regardless of the message because it is well written. I think those are few and far between, but if you know of any, please leave a suggestion in the comments.

Comments

[Kurt]

Animal Farm. I think we all read it in middle school, but it was more interesting when I read it again (way after middle school).

[Lea]

"The Giver" and "The Anthem" both have similar messages about the loss of fulfillment and self-actualization in planned societies.

[Tammy Carroll]

I was just coming to post "The Giver"! I read it when it was assigned to my fifth grade son this past April. You can only imagine how interesting it was to compare the parts I found most compelling to discuss and the points my son wanted to talk about.

[Trish Howe]

Some might argue this isn't true fiction, but The Invisible Heart by Russ Roberts seems an obvious -- and enjoyable - choice. One econ professor calls reading it, "Taking the Red Pill" a la The Matrix as it changes how you see the world.

[staffaction]

The Space Trilogy by C. S. Lewis I think would be a great compliment to the non-fiction.

In "That Hideous Strength" he tells about a government-funded scientific think tank, the National Institute for Coordinated Experiments (N.I.C.E.), that dictates government policy according to eugenic, utilitarian principles.