A lottery is a game of chance in which players purchase tickets and then try to match combinations of numbers, symbols or words for a prize. Modern lotteries take many forms, from those used for military conscription to commercial promotions in which property is given away by a random procedure to those used for the selection of jury members and public service jobs. Despite their wide popularity, however, lotteries have a mixed record of success and are often the subject of criticism over issues such as compulsive gambling or their alleged regressive impact on low-income individuals.
Despite its many variations, the lottery remains a common feature of state government finance, with most states having their own official games and some even joining multi-state lotteries. The state legislature generally legislates a monopoly for the lottery itself; establishes a lottery agency or public corporation to run it (or in some cases contracts with a private company in exchange for a percentage of the profits); starts operations with a modest number of relatively simple games, and under pressure from legislators, governors, and others seeking additional revenues progressively expands the program by adding new games.
Although this expansion is usually accompanied by increased jackpots and other prizes, the underlying logic is that lottery revenue is an easy way to fill state coffers without increasing taxes on middle-class and working-class people. During the post-World War II period this arrangement was especially attractive, with states relying on “painless” lottery revenues to fund an increasingly broad array of services.
As with most forms of government, however, the lottery is a classic case of piecemeal and incremental policymaking that takes little or no overview, and which leaves decision-makers vulnerable to short-term revenue demands and pressures from a variety of interested groups. In fact, in general, it is difficult to find any state lottery with a coherent public policy.
This is clear from the story of Mr. Summers and the villagers in which Jackson shows how a single change can alter the entire context of the lottery, from a game to an experience. It is a story that illustrates the power of tradition and how those who don’t follow it are considered “a pack of crazy fools,” as one character in the story puts it. This is a small point in the overall story, but it illustrates how an attitude can persist even when its original meaning is lost or has become purposeless. The villagers are willing to ignore the reality of their situation and continue to follow a tradition that has long outlived its purpose. In the real world, such an attitude can have disastrous consequences. Many lottery players are now finding that they have done the same thing. Their lives have essentially been reduced to their winnings and nothing else. They’ve lost touch with their families, lost contact with their friends, and are living in a kind of existence that can only be described as tragic.