In the unnamed small town in which Jackson’s story takes place, the villagers have gathered for their yearly lottery. Children who have just returned from summer vacation are the first to assemble, playing with stones that they’ve collected. Adults soon join them, displaying the stereotypical normality of small-town social life as they talk warmly and gossip about work.

The narrator notes that while many of them may not like the lottery, they know it’s part of a tradition they’ve long taken for granted. They also know that if they don’t participate, they might lose out on a valuable community resource: the opportunity to win a large sum of money.

But when the narrator hears Mrs. Dunbar and young Jack Watson complain that some villages have stopped holding lotteries, Old Man Warner scoffs. He asserts that it’s not just a tradition; it’s a necessity for a harmonious society and a productive harvest.

The lottery is an ancient practice, and the earliest known European lotteries date to the Roman Empire. Lotteries were often used to distribute property or slaves during Saturnalian celebrations. The emperor Nero even gave away land through a lottery. The earliest public lotteries, however, were held in the 18th century, when the Continental Congress voted to hold a lottery to raise funds for the American Revolution. Although the plan was ultimately abandoned, lotteries continued as a means to collect “voluntary taxes” and help build several American colleges, including Harvard, Dartmouth, Yale, King’s College (now Columbia), William and Mary, and Union.

In modern times, lotteries play on a number of themes to appeal to people’s desire for wealth and the chance to change their lives in a big way. Some promote the idea that the proceeds go to a specific state public good, such as education or infrastructure. But studies show that this argument is largely a red herring; lotteries have garnered broad public approval regardless of their states’ actual fiscal circumstances.

Some critics argue that the popularity of lotteries is rooted in an inextricable human urge to gamble. Others point to the fact that most people who purchase a ticket do not actually win, and that the money raised by these games is insufficient to fund state programs. But most researchers agree that there is a more profound problem at work: the exploitation of low-income communities.

The lottery is an industry that preys on people’s vulnerabilities and a deep-seated sense of greed and hopelessness. The exploitation of the poor is particularly disturbing, as it creates the illusion that the lottery is not only a form of gambling but also a kind of civic duty to support the state by purchasing a ticket. This is a dangerous message, especially in the current climate of inequality and economic dislocation that has swept across the nation. Moreover, the way in which lottery advertising is geared toward low-income communities contributes to this perception, creating a vicious cycle in which poverty and the lottery become mutually reinforcing.