Understanding Todays World Through The Lens Of Star Wars

Published: July 6, 2016, 3:01 p.m.

b'With Cass Sunstein, Founder and Director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard, Former White House regulatory czar, Author of\\xa0The World According to Star Wars

What Does Luke Skywalker have to do with Ruth Bader Ginsburg or Brexit with Star Wars? Turns out that in Cass Sunstein\\u2019s new book, The World According to Star Wars, there are parallels with both.
Cass Sunstein, Founder and Director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard University and currently the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard generally writes books and articles of a more serious nature, but this time, he was inspired by his then five-year-old son\\u2019s obsession with all things Star Wars.\\xa0 Focusing on the star-power, as it were, of a phenomenon that has spanned over four decades, earned 30 billion dollars, and captured the imagination of children and adults all over the world, Cass questioned the driving force within Star Wars.
George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, has often spoken about the influence of Joseph Campbell\\u2019s 1949 book The Hero with A Thousand Faces which outlines the age-old motif of the hero\\u2019s journey, one of the cultural myths embedded into all cultures and religions. The usually reluctant hero is called upon to face a formidable challenge, survives after walking though moral and physical hot coals, and then ultimately returns home in victory, like Homer\\u2019s Ulysses and Lucas\\u2019s Luke Skywalker,
In his book, Sunstein uses episodes of Star Wars as lessons in constitutional law, global economics, and political uprisings.\\xa0 He also explores the choices, both ethical and practical, we all must face in life. Every pivotal stage of history has its own dominant force, whether for good or evil, that propels societies and cultures in new directions. In the US today, many people are feeling disenfranchised, unhappy with the economy, with lack of opportunity, with government interference. They feel frustrated with our leaders\\u2019 inability to enforce change, and so the stage was set for what is taking place in our present presidential campaign\\u2014from the left, from the right, from Bernie Sanders (while he was still a challenger to Hillary Clinton) to Donald Trump. The old order, the status quo is being challenged, and a rebellion, even of spirit, is definitely taking place.\\xa0 As the recent Brexit vote in Great Britain exemplifies, this force is not just happening in the United States but is taking on a global proportions.
Cass draws an interesting analogy between our judicial system\\u2014and the Supreme Court, in particular\\u2014to an aspect of Star Wars.
Each of the seven episodes of Star Wars must be faithful to the one preceding it, explains Sunstein, so that each episode adds a layer to the total story and must be faithful to what came before. The Supreme Court must perform in much the same way, where each case, whether it involve affirmative action, abortion, same-sex marriage, or any other issue must respect the actions and judicial decisions that came before. Of course,'