On a 50 mile backpacking trip with your friends the most remarkable thing happens. "Hey, look here!" your friend Peter, who happens to be the size of a tweeny twelve-year-old, calls out, "I think I found something crazy!" You follow him behind a large boulder and discover a small cave entrance, about the size of a playground tube slide. A strange light is emitting from the recesses of the cave, and all of your friends become extremely curious. "Where does it go?" your friend Sarah whispers to no one in particular. "I'm finding out!" Peter yells and he jumps down the chute and disappears.
He's gone. You call but he doesn't answer. Worried, one by one your friends descend to find him. None come back. Finally, you decide to slide down and face your fate. The cave turns out to be an entrance to an underground community of humans who have carved out a society hundreds of feet below Earth's surface. There are about 2,000 people living in the underground caverns, many of whom have lived there all their lives. They speak English, and refer to themselves as the "Cave Crowd."
The only problem is that the Cave Crowd is living in a state of nature, without any kind of official order. They're kind of annoyed by all the issues they're having amongst themselves but they're just not sure how to resolve them. When they hear that you're taking a Gov and Econ class they hold a community meeting so you can help get the crowded caverns into a state of order.
During the meeting, the Cave Crowd hands you a list of 6 questions about government that they think will help them learn what they need to so they can begin creating some order. They ask you to at least answer 4 of these questions, but promise you extra credit (whatever that means) if you give excellent answers to all 6.
Questions:
What is law?
Should there be any limits on what laws can do? If so, what, specifically, should the law be prohibited from doing for the Cave Crowd?
Should we organize under a government? Would the benefits of government outweigh the costs for the Cave Crowd?
If we create a government, what kind of government would be best suited to the Cave Crowd?
What role should education play in the new government? About what should the Cave Crowd become educated?
Everyone defines "rights" differently. What is a good definition of rights, and what rights must be protected for the Cave Crowd's society to work?
