EPISODE · May 14, 2026 · 1H 27M
Walking away from 'The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas'
from Do You Even Lit? · host cam and benny feat. rich
Ursula K. Le Guin's 1973 story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas has been discussed to death, but the boys have finally cracked the ONE TRUE reading. huddle in Rich remembered this being a glorified trolley problem that would allow us to settle the question of 'who is the most utilitarian-brained of us all' but it's not! It's about politics, and capitalism, and bold utopian leaps! On the real-world parallels: does western prosperity actually depend on the suffering of the global south? Is there a difference between culpability and moral luck? Is there such thing as ethical consumption under capitalism? Fighting the hypothetical: Benny has largely solved moral philosophy and finds the story less compelling the second time around. Also, Omelas is not very revealing as a thought experiment. We talk about how thought experiments fail, and compare with Nozick's experience machine. On those who walk away: morally serious dissenters, or virtue-signalling posers? Is Le Guin really so against incrementalism that she has set up the experiment so it's impossible? We manage to find an optimistic reading lurking in there too. Plus: Why can't kids these days read good? We debate whether it's a moral panic, if the use of LLMs helps or hinders, and how fucking stupid you'd have to be to try and start a literature podcast in a post-literate society. Full transcript available at doyouevenlit.com — you can sort all episodes by ideas, authors, and more. CHAPTERS: (00:00:00) this is a running podcast now (00:05:50) Impressions vs the first time we read the story (00:09:30) synopsis: a utopian city with a dirty little secret (00:17:50) FIGHTING THE HYPOTHETICAL (00:25:00) The case against thought experiments: If magic was real, would you grant that magic was real? (00:28:00) Is walking away a moral act or empty posturing (00:30:42) Le Guin's true motive: socio-political critique or glorified trolley problem (00:35:00) is Omelas actually an anarchist utopia? (00:43:01) is there such thing as ethical consumption under capitalism (00:52:28) moral luck vs. culpability (EA is good akshully) (01:02:00) The stickiness of the Omelas story (01:05:00) Eric T's listener mail: can kids still read good? (01:18:00) on the stupidity of starting a lit podcast in a post-literate age WRITE US: We love listener feedback. Send us a note at [email protected] to correct our hot takes, add your own, or ask a question. NEXT ON THE READING LIST: Cathedral — Raymond Carver Middlemarch — George Eliot
What this episode covers
Ursula K. Le Guin's 1973 story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas has been discussed to death, but the boys have finally cracked the ONE TRUE reading. huddle in Rich remembered this being a glorified trolley problem that would allow us to settle the question of 'who is the most utilitarian-brained of us all' but it's not! It's about politics, and capitalism, and bold utopian leaps! On the real-world parallels: does western prosperity actually depend on the suffering of the global south? Is there a difference between culpability and moral luck? Is there such thing as ethical consumption under capitalism? Fighting the hypothetical: Benny has largely solved moral philosophy and finds the story less compelling the second time around. Also, Omelas is not very revealing as a thought experiment. We talk about how thought experiments fail, and compare with Nozick's experience machine. On those who walk away: morally serious dissenters, or virtue-signalling posers? Is Le Guin really so against incrementalism that she has set up the experiment so it's impossible? We manage to find an optimistic reading lurking in there too. Plus: Why can't kids these days read good? We debate whether it's a moral panic, if the use of LLMs helps or hinders, and how fucking stupid you'd have to be to try and start a literature podcast in a post-literate society. Full transcript available at doyouevenlit.com — you can sort all episodes by ideas, authors, and more. CHAPTERS: (00:00:00) this is a running podcast now (00:05:50) Impressions vs the first time we read the story (00:09:30) synopsis: a utopian city with a dirty little secret (00:17:50) FIGHTING THE HYPOTHETICAL (00:25:00) The case against thought experiments: If magic was real, would you grant that magic was real? (00:28:00) Is walking away a moral act or empty posturing (00:30:42) Le Guin's true motive: socio-political critique or glorified trolley problem (00:35:00) is Omelas actually an anarchist utopia? (00:43:01) is there such thing as ethical consumption under capitalism (00:52:28) moral luck vs. culpability (EA is good akshully) (01:02:00) The stickiness of the Omelas story (01:05:00) Eric T's listener mail: can kids still read good? (01:18:00) on the stupidity of starting a lit podcast in a post-literate age WRITE US: We love listener feedback. Send us a note at [email protected] to correct our hot takes, add your own, or ask a question. NEXT ON THE READING LIST: Cathedral — Raymond Carver Middlemarch — George Eliot
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Walking away from 'The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas'
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