“Stuck in a Soviet Elevator”
It’s 1938, and Arthur Koestler, John Scott, and you are stuck in an elevator between the 39th and 40th floors of some god-awful Soviet skyscraper in Moscow. As the compartment heats up and tempers fray, Koestler and Scott get into a ferocious argument about the degeneration of the Bolshevik Revolution into Stalinist Terror. Their argument goes something like this:
Koestler: “You idiot! Don’t you know that all of the blood and sweat you and your fellow workers put into the Revolution was destined to go wrong? The ‘enormous dynamic forces which the Revolution unleashed’ (Hearing Three, 3) have led inevitably to Stalinist extremes.”
Scott: “I’m not the idiot, you’re the idiot! What you fail to see—indeed, you deliberately ignore—is that these dynamic forces, as you describe them, were not at all destined to cause the Terror. They were forces for the good! They were just corrupted by bad people.”
You have had quite enough of Koestler’s and Scott’s quarreling and try to climb up to a small open space that will take you to the 40th floor. But our battling “idiots” pull you back. They won’t let you leave until you tell them who is right. So, whose argument do you choose?
Assignment. Please take a firm and unequivocal stand on this question. Overall, your paper should accomplish three objectives: 1) It should clearly state the issue at hand; 2) It should spell out the two possible responses; and 3) It should clearly explain why you are choosing one of them over the other.
There is no single, correct answer to this question. There are only better or worse arguments. My goal is to have you think about what it means to make a persuasive argument.
Please note: You are writing one paper, not two. Address counterarguments the entire time you are writing. Draw upon lots of evidence from your readings, including, if you like, Cohen and ‘Z’. Of course, Koestler makes his case in a much more explicit way than Scott. Thus, dare to use your imagination in reconstructing an acrimonious debate that might have happened.
Ideally, when we read your finished essay, we should be able to move effortlessly from your succinct introduction to your resounding conclusion. Delete everything that is not related to the above assignment. Avoid arguments you don’t understand. When you come to the end of your argument, stop. Do not write another paper!
Requirements. Your essay should be no more than 5 (five) typed, double-spaced pages (12 point font and regular margins) of incisive reasoning. It should also have a carefully-chosen title.
I strongly recommend that you begin this assignment immediately. My expectations are quite reasonable. I merely expect you to write the best paper you have ever written.
This paper is due by next Friday, February 27 at 9:00 a.m. Please email your response to Greg at Gregory.Siems.1@nd.edu . You are responsible for getting your paper to Greg on time.
Good luck!