On Substack, Joe Wrote recently discussed the rhetoric of defenders of capitalism: "Whether consciously or subconsciously, many pro-capitalist voices turn to the falsehood that capitalism is something natural, and deviation from it is as silly as saying humanity should abandon bipedalism and return to running around on all fours." I commented that the regression threatened in such arguments echoes Old Man Warner's remarks in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" (1948): "Next thing you know, they'll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work any more, live that way for a while. [...] First thing you know, we'd all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There's always been a lottery." (Andrew Shields, #111Words, 4 August 2025)