I have no idea what "the futility of socialism" means, but did she just assume that everyone knows about Harry Potter? All I know is that it's wizards, they go to Hogwarts, there's a large man with a large beard, an old man with a white beard who's apparently gay, the enemy has no nose, and Harry's friends are redheads. Unless Emma Watson is blonde. I've seen pictures of her hair looking blonde and reddish and I've only seen the first movie, so I'm not sure.

They aren't entitled to an opinion if it's a stupid opinion.

It would be funny...if I knew what it meant...

JK Rowling would definitely not argue against socialism. She seems rather liberal herself. The Ministry of Magic is clearly inept but it is also aligned with authoritarian conservative social values.

This is a great assignment if you are a bit twisted and really want to f-with the teacher. Write the paper on the futility of socialism in the context of a teacher giving this as an assignment. Disregard the economic aspect of socialism and focus on the role of the state (in this case the Teacher). The teacher is mandating the means of the assignment (just like the role of the State in socialism) that it must be written on an obscure and irrelevant basis (Harry Potter is as far from economic socialism as you can get), yet everyone has to write an aspect of socialism into the Harry Potter universe.

I'm sorry, but as a parent who is ordinarily supportive of teachers, I would be making myself heard. This is nonsense.

I swear that I will never be this type of dipshit teacher... People like this make me ashamed to even admit that I'm a teacher!

If I'd been given that I'd have written something about how Harry Potter warns us about the fallibility of authority, including teachers, and cite Umbridge pushing the Ministry's "Voldemort is not back." Propaganda on her students, forcing them to write as if they agreed with the position or face failing grades. Then instead of turning it in, read it to the class to make sure everyone else sees you have Umbridge teaching you.

Does your teacher some how another, idiotically, have Harry Potter confused with Animal Farm, which actually is about futility of Socialism?

This is the problem with the education system: indoctrination. We are no longer free to express or create new ideas, only parrot the opinions of others. Personally, I despise socialism, but a true thinker will interpret the material he or she reads in their own way and should not be censored from expressing it.