{"id":277,"date":"2014-10-01T17:49:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-01T21:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.nd.edu\/communist-dream-2014\/?page_id=277"},"modified":"2014-10-01T17:56:23","modified_gmt":"2014-10-01T21:56:23","slug":"essay-assignment-1","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/communist-dream-2014\/essay-assignment-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Essay Assignment #1"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nA Violent Confrontation on a Trolley in St. Petersburg<\/em><\/h3>\n

 
\nLenin and one of his Economist adversaries accidentally find themselves shoved up against each other on a crowded trolley. They immediately get in a violent argument, so much so that the other trolley riders get off at the next stop.<\/p>\n

The Economist says: \u00a0\u2018Comrade Ilyich, the problem with the conspiratorial party\u00a0that you advocate\u00a0in\u00a0What is to be Done?\u00a0<\/em>is that it will inevitably create a revolutionary dictatorship rather than the just and egalitarian society you say you want in\u00a0State and Revolution<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lenin answers: \u00a0\u2018Well, Comrade Economist, the trouble with your approach to revolution is that if we follow it, we will never have even a chance of realizing a truly just society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who is right, the Economist or Lenin?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Assignment<\/span>. Please respond to this question with one cohesive argument. Your paper should accomplish three objectives: 1) It should unequivocally state which of the two trolley riders is correct; 2) It should spell out the two riders\u2019 stands; and 3) It should clearly explain why you are choosing one of them over the other.\u00a0 Remember<\/em>:\u00a0 your goal is to persuade your reader that you are right.\u00a0 Anyone who argues against you is wrong.<\/p>\n

In fact, there is no single, correct answer to this question. There are only\u00a0better\u00a0or worse\u00a0arguments about it.<\/p>\n

Please note<\/span>: You are writing one paper, not two. Make sure you are answering this question and not some other question that you wish I had asked. Address counterarguments the entire time you are writing. Drawing upon evidence from your readings.\u00a0 Remember our debate!<\/p>\n

Be concise and to the point. Your reader should be able to proceed effortlessly from your first sentence to your last.\u00a0 If you throw in a fancy word or phrase that is not essential to your argument, delete it immediately. If you make a point that you do not fully understand, the chances are good that I won\u2019t understand it either.\u00a0 When you come to the end of your argument, stop. Do not write another paper!\u00a0 Do not do additional reading!<\/p>\n

Requirements<\/span>. Your essay should be no more than 4 typed, double-spaced pages (12 point font and regular margins) of incisive reasoning. It should have a carefully-chosen title.<\/p>\n

This assignment is both straightforward and demanding. I strongly recommend that you begin it immediately. Then, put it aside.\u00a0 Then, return to it and revise it. \u00a0And so on.\u00a0 My expectations are not unreasonable. I merely expect you to compose the four best pages of prose that you have ever written in your life.<\/p>\n

This paper is due next Wednesday, October 8, by 9:00 a.m. Please email your response to me at amcadams@nd.edu. You are responsible for getting your paper to me on time.<\/p>\n

Good luck!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"trolley\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Violent Confrontation on a Trolley in St. Petersburg   Lenin and one of his Economist adversaries accidentally find themselves shoved up against each other on a crowded trolley. They immediately get in a violent argument, so much so that the other trolley riders get off at the next stop. The Economist says: \u00a0\u2018Comrade Ilyich, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-277","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/communist-dream-2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/communist-dream-2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/communist-dream-2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/communist-dream-2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/communist-dream-2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/communist-dream-2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":283,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/communist-dream-2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/277\/revisions\/283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/communist-dream-2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}