How Can A Totalitarian Government Encourage Health,...

How can a totalitarian government encourage health, posterity and economic sustainability? In the fictional short story Harrison Bergeron, written by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. in 1961, there is no longer a democracy. The government has created a controlled lifestyle that makes everyone equal. By the year 2081, the governing official is referred to as The United States Handicap General. There have been restrictions put on the population to ensure complete and total equality. This includes, intelligence, physical appearance, strength and physical ability. â€Å"They weren t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or†¦show more content†¦In the case of intelligence, a device is placed in their ear to pause the brain and hinder any higher-level thoughts. Painful sounds are released every twenty seconds to keep people from â€Å"taking unfair advantage of their brain.† (Vonnegut 1) The intellect of the Handicap General determines the baseline of what intelligence is allowed from anyone. In this case, there would be no way to educate. With the equality that is placed over everyone, there would be no possibility of higher level learning or a need for it. So how would a culture survive with no growth or expectancy of learning? There would be no justification for schools or secondary education. Everyone would have the same comprehension level. Other than understanding what is read, there is no use for reading except for pleasure or basic everyday function. No need for higher level mathematics or sciences. With only limited education in the science field, there would be no professionals in the medical or pharmaceutical profession. This means there would be no diagnosing of sickness, no way to prevent diseases, no antibiotics and no health advancements. Not having these necessities will allow for a rapid and dramatic decrease in population. Even the thought process of elementary first aid would be limited every twenty seconds. Hospitals would be non-existent. All trades would no longer exist. People who are skilled in repairing automobiles, construction