Assignment task:
A few of you have indicated difficulty accessing the assignment via Google Docs. I have included it below, minus the video content. If you have any additional questions, please let me know, hopefully this will help if the assignment remains inaccessible for some of you.
Walking Through The Dead:
Imagine there has been a viral outbreak causing those infected to develop severe fevers and swelling, which quickly overtake their immune system causing rapid and sometimes painful death. Shortly after all brain activity ceases, these corpses reanimate with a singular focus - to consume human flesh. These "Creepers" as people have come to describe them have nearly overtaken humanity. The government and the military was powerless to stop this outbreak. However, after several years a team of researchers developed a vaccination that provides immunity against the virus. While people can no longer be infected by the Creepers, the bodily danger they pose is still very real.
In the wake of the military's failed efforts to contain the Creepers and the virus, mass casualties and sheer pandemonium followed almost immediately, which resulted in the systematic and total collapse of ordered government and civil society. Over time the people that survived naturally divided or found themselves in situations of circumstance. Albeit, the current state of nature that the vaccinated survivors find themselves in is tenuous at best. Alliances and verbal treaties with other groups are often violated, territorial boundaries are rarely respected, resources are not always plentiful, and the threat of more hostile and rabid survivors in addition to the Creepers are always present.
You are the leader of a small settlement of survivors (between 20 - 30 men, women and children) As the leader you have attempted to create standard of living that provides both security and order. For the most part your leadership is well respected and you have earned the trust of the people in your settlement because of your integrity and commitment to one simple principle that you are dedicated to upholding at all costs: "WE DO NOT KILL THE LIVING."
Assignment Instructions:
Watch the video clip above from the show "The Walking Dead." Imagine that your group is the one faced with the decision of how to deal with the male prisoner locked in the barn. The young man was part of another unknown group that attempted to ambush you and your party while out searching for food and supplies. While fighting against his group, you took him captive in order to save him from being killed by Creepers. However, now you are faced with a decision regarding his fate. Members of your settlement are either evenly split on what to do, or don't want to be part of the decision making process, placing the final choice in your hands alone.
Q1.) Review the options below and decide which option you will choose. Indicate why you have selected the chosen option and why you believe this option is egalitarian in its alignment and application of your core principle listed above.
Q2.) Discuss whether your decision is more aligned with the principles of Thomas Hobbes or John Locke- why?
Q3.) Does your choice support classical liberalism or classical republicanism - How? Does classical republicanism or classical liberalism best support the growth and development of ordered society - why do you believe so, what quotes from Hobbes and Locke would you use to support your position?