Socialism In The Road By Cormac Mccarthy

Cormac McCarthy’s The Road presents the author’s depiction of what he deems a potential picture of post apocalyptic America, a society unregulated by governmental laws. The hypothetical situation presented, one dominated by murder and cannibalism, indicates McCarthy’s potential view that, without the constraints of society, we would descend into egocentric savagery, suggesting that we need guidance and government in order to maintain peace. For me, this idea that without regulation we would all act only out of self-interest, raises fundamental questions about what it means to be human; predominantly whether our nature is inherently selfish, and perhaps if we even have a fixed, immutable nature at all or if our actions and behaviour stem from how we are nurtured, causing them to be relative, depending on context. If we didn’t have governmental systems in place or at least aspects of societal structure, …show more content…
For example, when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana, we saw less of this violence and instead saw communities come together to aid one another in displays of complete selflessness and compassion. Genuine altruism was shown in particular with the treatment of those in need; healthy individuals took it upon themselves to help those who were not so able, with neighbours immediately checking on the elderly, helping them evaluate the damage to their houses and reach a shelter, whilst many doctors and nurses remained in hospitals, sacrificing their own safety to help their patients instead. There was no system of instruction in place to guide this altruistic behaviour, it came entirely from the individuals themselves which leads me to question Hobbes’ account as it is not universally applicable. Can we really propose that such a selfish nature is inherent within us when events like these display the complete