Golding’s myth in *Lord of the Flies* is pure moralistic fiction, a thought experiment that ignores our neural architecture. When a group is pushed to its limits, symbiosis flourishes, not social cannibalism.
The case of the six Tongan youths on the island of ‘Ata (1965) is the definitive counter-example; far from barbarism, they created a micro-society with watch shifts, vegetable gardens and medical care for an injured companion. Survival is a team sport.
Leave a Reply