David Brooks recently wrote about Ursula Le Guin’s parable, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.”  The short story is a provocative tale capturing the complexities of exploitation in modern society. In it, a child is locked in a basement and suffers deeply on behalf of the greater good.

Take a look at what Brooks has to say.

When I first read Brooks’ editorial, my mind cast Earth herself as the exploited child in the basement. After all, the planet suffers deeply in service to  humankind’s unchecked population growth and the highly consumptive lifestyle of a few.

But then I stopped my line of reasoning, saw it as folly.

Earth is not a helpless child. Instead, the planet is the city of Omelas, she is us. When we sacrifice Earth, we sacrifice ourselves. What’s more–unlike the parable–we do not have the option of throwing another child into the closet when this one dies. If our life support system fails, everything we now find beautiful, delightful, and magnificent will be lost.

Yet, Earth will continue.

Should the planet grow inhospitable to our kind, we will fade but new life will bubble forth to have its day under the sun.

Earth is not a victim. She is strong and far more patient and resilient than we. It is on us—as an act of self-defense–to care for her as an ally and sustainer of our existence.

Brooks suggests at the end of the editorial that the City of Omelas represents the complexities of each individual’s psyches: we are both benefactors of exploitation and the suffering child. To this I say, of course! We wound ourselves in our indulgence.

But, there is good news in the relationship between benefactor and sufferer. When we wake to the intimate link between exploitation and pain–the true price of excess–we become members of a much larger community, one that includes people, animals, plants and minerals dwelling beyond the limits of Omelas. By rejecting exploitation and the myth it is necessary for happiness, we join the continuum of space and time, step into harmony with the richness of  life, and rise to the challenge of stewarding this moment for the real greater good.