The Many vs. The Few | A Project Idea

I have often wondered … if we were to review the expanse of human history and distill it to only the most important turning points, to whom would we owe the greatest thanks and deepest loathing? Is history changed by the many (governments, collective peoples, religions) or the few (cloak n’ dagger politics, great political leaders, tyrants, Einsteins)? Throughout the semester, students would have to defend their side in an ongoing Socratic discussion. We would then approach it from a different perspective and look to the future. Given the previous discussion, is our society best served by investing in the many or focusing our efforts on a few potential leaders, innovators, etc. How? An interesting outcome could be that the many are a carefully developed raw resource that can only be tapped and harnessed by the few. Interesting parallel: Hollywood heroes and villains. In fact, this idea was inspired by the film Captain America – Winter Soldier.

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