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at all. This interpretation plays to fears that immigrants come just to go on welfare, which is not accurate. The idea of the story as a parable about the welfare state generally is a little more plausible—Thidwick’s “big heart” having similarities to the epithet “bleeding heart,” and the general laziness and parasitism of the creatures, whose draining of Thidwick’s resources threatens to destroy both him and them, as representative of those that exploit such a system. Proponents of a universal basic income, for instance, argue that everyone is entitled to a minimal income provided by the society, regardless of whether they are employed at all. Critics of this approach argue that this perversely creates incentives to avoid work, which shifts an unfair burden onto those who do work. Thidwick could be seen as the one provider in the society while the “guests” are all getting a “free ride.” While this isn’t inaccurate, I think it misses the bigger picture: the nature of liberty and the foundation of rights.

It’s worth reiterating that Thidwick’s loss of liberty, his enslavement, is primarily due to his own mistaken conception of his duties toward others. Allowing the Bingle Bug to ride on his horns was not obligatory in the first place. Thidwick was happy to do this as a favor. While this didn’t create any entitlements for the bug, it’s understandable that Thidwick might feel that the bug is now a guest, and a host should be nice to his guest. But he should not have regarded any of the other creatures as guests nor felt any obligation to be nice to them, especially when their claims of entitlement trumped his own liberty and claims to self-ownership. Thidwick gets in a jam because he doesn’t realize (or has forgotten) that he has a fundamental right of self-ownership, and it is his realization (or rediscovery) of the idea of liberty that gets him out of it.

One way to interpret Thidwick is as a cautionary tale to the effect that we can be complicit in our own oppression. When the Bingle Bug invites the Tree-Spider to move in, he claims that Thidwick won’t mind. Thidwick acquiesced, even though he apparently did mind. How often do we acquiesce to encroachments on our freedoms because of perceived obligations that in reality are nonconsensual and thus nonexistent? Contrast Thidwick’s predicament with that of Horton the elephant in Horton Hatches the Egg: Horton is taken advantage of by Mayzie, to be sure, but Horton did agree to take care of her egg. He feels he must honor an agreement he voluntarily made, even if it’s true that Mayzie is irresponsible. Thidwick, on the other hand, never agreed to give rides to any of the creatures who came after the Bingle Bug. Thidwick’s tale reminds us that we are self-owners and that we cannot acquire property nonconsensually. It also reminds us that we sometimes forget this and allow others to encroach on our freedoms. As Mack the turtle notes in opposition to King Yertle, “We, too, should [and do] have rights” (Yertle).4

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Rebellion in Sala-ma-Sond:

The Social Contract and a

Turtle Named Mack

Ron Novy

So Yertle, the Turtle King, lifted his hand

And Yertle, the Turtle King, gave a command.

He ordered nine turtles to swim to his stone

And, using these turtles, he built a new throne. (Yertle)

From atop his nine-turtle stack King Yertle claims dominion over all he looks down upon: “Oh, the things I now rule! I’m king of a cow! And I’m king of a mule” (Yertle). With two hundred more piled on, he proclaims, “I’m king of the butterflies! King of the air! Ah, me! What a throne! What a wonderful chair!” (Yertle). He estimates that by adding just a few turtles more (well, 5,607 turtles more), he will be king of the moon as well. But from below the growing pile of his fellow citizens, a plain little turtle named Mack cries out,

Your Majesty, please . . . I don’t like to complain,

But down here below, we are feeling great pain.

I know up on top you are seeing great sights,

But down at the bottom we, too, should have rights. (Yertle)