Discussion Questions
Book One: Founding
- If you were able to write a charter for Ferndale or another post-apocalyptic town, what kind of system would you create and why?
- Did Ferndale live up to the Founders’ goals? In what ways did the Founders succeed? In what ways did they fail
- Before the others arrived in Ferndale, was there a way that Rafael could have respectfully initiated a romantic relationship with Irina that would not have felt coercive given their isolation and dependence on each other?
- Do you agree with Irina’s idea that grief doesn’t reveal you, it transforms you? Have you experienced grief that changed you or the way you viewed the world?
- Both Tina and Irina had an adult who “showed up” and had a profound positive impact on their lives. Is there someone like that in your life? In what ways did they show up? How did their support impact your life?
- Did you agree with any of Ro’s points about the downsides of Ferndale’s political model? Are there other problems with Ferndale’s model that you see?
- Do you agree with Tina’s stance that post-apocalyptic conditions necessitate some moral compromises? Should Tina and the others have shot the thieves at the trade conference and in barn on the outskirts of town? Should the town have executed the man who was found guilty of incest? Should Irina have sentenced Vera to exile for not contributing? Why or why not?
- What do you think about the power dynamics of Rafael and Irina’s marriage? Is it an egalitarian marriage?
- In what ways do each of the Founders’ past experiences affect the system they create and the later decisions they make — for example Irina and Tina’s decisions about how to handle sex offenders? In what ways does your own history affect your political beliefs and ethical decisions?
- Do you agree with Irina’s argument that most parenting decisions don’t really matter? How much of someone’s personality is the result of nature — genetics — and how much is the result of nurture — parenting, societal influences, and experiences?
- In what ways is government by random selection (sortition), a better model than elections? In what ways are elections better? What system would you prefer to live under?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of Irina and Rafael’s marriage? Is it a model of marriage you would aspire to?
- Is a happy marriage a matter of chance, as a Jane Austen character remarked, or a matter of choice, as Rafael thinks?
- In what ways could modern society be made more egalitarian? What would the costs or tradeoffs of that be?