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Idealist View Of Government In The Giver By Lois Lawry

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The Giver by Lois Lawry illustrates how the enforcement of a totalitarian government system inhibits those it seeks to govern as well as demonstrates the difference between the philosophically based political concepts of the realist and idealist point of view. As the American writer, Charlie Reese once stated, "We... are not really free if we can't control our own government and its policies. And we will never do that if we remain ignorant". One can interpret from this statement that a government that holds complete power over society and offers only limited information to the governed is unjust. Throughout the plot of The Giver, the idealist outlook of the government is constantly in juxtaposition with that of the Receiver and the newly placed Giver Jonas’ outlook. An Idealist is viewed as a person who is guided more by ideals and what they would like the world to be rather than by practical considerations. For example, in the society depicted in the film The Giver the government aims to control every component of life as a means of preserving the greater good. These aspects range from housing, child placement, healthcare and job assignments just to list a few. The idealist perspective of the government within the film leads them to pursue a perfect society rather than allow the people governed to establish the rules of their society themselves. When discussing this notion of thinking in politics anyone who is well versed in this area would likely mention the contrasting

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