The Lottery in Babylon by Jorge Luis Borges
"The Lottery in Babylon" is a short story by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges that explores themes of chance, fate, and the nature of reality. Set in the fictional city of Babylon, the narrative depicts a society governed entirely by a lottery system, which initially offers modest prizes but gradually escalates to include severe penalties and immense rewards. As the lottery evolves, participation becomes mandatory, and the stakes rise dramatically, leading to societal unrest and the exclusion of the poor. The Company that oversees the lottery becomes a mysterious entity, blurring the lines between existence and illusion. The story questions the validity of the Company’s existence and suggests that Babylon itself may merely represent an endless game of chance, devoid of meaning. Borges' narrative invites readers to reflect on the randomness of life and the often arbitrary nature of societal structures. This thought-provoking tale challenges concepts of free will and the human condition within a labyrinthine framework of fate.
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The Lottery in Babylon by Jorge Luis Borges
First published: "La loter¡a en Babilonia," 1941 (English translation, 1956)
Type of plot: Fantasy
Time of work: Unspecified
Locale: Babylon
Principal Character:
The unnamed narrator
The Story
The narrator, who is about to sail away, recalls his life in Babylon, where everything is ruled by chance. There is a lottery in Babylon that began as most lotteries do, offering relatively modest prizes that did not inspire many to participate. Later the possibility of drawing fines was added to the lottery: For every thirty winning numbers there was to be one requiring payment of a fine. People who did not participate in the lottery came to be scorned as mean-spirited. When some people refused to pay the fines (from which winners were paid), nonpecuniary awards and penalties were added, such as jail sentences. When the stakes were raised, excluding the poor, there were riots. This led to reforms that removed the necessity of even having to buy tickets: Everyone had to participate. Similarly, cash prizes were eliminated; instead, winners could be elevated to the highest reaches of the Company that ran Babylon, while losers could be sentenced to death.
The ship is now ready to sail, but the narrator explains that the Company—arcane and shrouded in mystery as it is and holding Babylon together as it does—may not even exist, that it may never have existed. He concludes that there is a "conjecture no less vile [that] argues that it is inconsequential to affirm or deny the reality of the shadowy corporation, because Babylon is nothing but an infinite game of chance."