The lottery is a form of gambling in which numbers are drawn to win a prize. Its supporters argue that the entertainment value of playing outweighs the disutility of a monetary loss, making it a rational decision for some individuals. The first known lotteries were held in the Low Countries in the 15th century as a way to raise money for town fortifications, and to help the poor. Lotteries are now a common method of raising funds for public goods and services.
In a small town, the people are gathering for the annual lottery. The children assemble first, of course, as they always do. They shout and cheer as they wait for their turn to enter the lottery box. The adults follow, chatting and catching up. They recite an old proverb: “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.”
The odds of winning are long. There is no such thing as a guaranteed prize, and even a huge jackpot would be far from enough to provide a comfortable life for most participants. But the odds are not as bad as they appear. The fact is that a person’s chances of winning are much, much less than one-in-three million. The odds feel good because the starting point is so high. People also feel that winning a large sum of money is a meritocratic achievement.
This is why so many people play the lottery. They believe they will be rich someday. They may not know why the odds are so long, but they have a sense that they will win. They may have some quote-unquote system that does not withstand close scrutiny, about lucky numbers and shopping days and the types of tickets to buy, but they know deep down that the chances of winning are based entirely on chance.
A growing awareness that there was a great deal of money to be made in the gambling industry combined with a crisis in state funding in the nineteen sixties. As population and inflation rose, states were unable to balance their budgets without raising taxes or cutting services. The latter was a deeply unpopular option, and so in the seventies a tax revolt erupted. People began to oppose paying higher taxes, and lotteries became a popular alternative.
Some people have suggested that lotteries are a tax on the stupid, either because they don’t understand how unlikely it is to win or because they enjoy the game anyway. This argument, however, ignores that the lottery is a commercial product that responds to economic fluctuations. Its sales increase when incomes fall, unemployment grows, and poverty rates rise. Lottery spending is also disproportionately concentrated in neighborhoods that are disadvantaged, which reinforces the notion that lotteries are regressive.
The events of Jackson’s short story show that human evil is not confined to the worst acts in history. The townspeople behave in a way that is hardly shocking, yet they accomplish nothing of any value for themselves. In this way, they act as scapegoats, a practice that purges the town of the evil and allows for its regeneration.