Ayn Rand’s “Anthem” Book Analysis

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Gaining Equality through the Injustice of Government
The Motivational Success of Individuality and Freedom
The Collectivist Model, Government Overreach and Control that Limits Innovation
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

An excellent introduction to Ayn Rand’s theory of human nature is the book Anthem. Her moral and political philosophies are fundamentally based on the topic and fundamental struggle of the novella—the individual versus the collective—which appears in all of her works. In the undetermined future, where freedom and individual rights have been eradicated, the events of Anthem take place. Despite being centered on the antiutopian model of the narration, the author strives to show the first step for the person to obtain individuality. Collectivism results in the elimination of individuality as a concept. The current paper is devoted to supporting the author’s idea regarding the negative impact of collectivism on personality formation.

Gaining Equality through the Injustice of Government

Supporting the ideology of the author and the situation depicted in the novel, Maoism in China can be mentioned. The essence of Maoism is to combine classical communist ideas with Great Han chauvinism and Chinese centrism. The Chinese Communists managed to overcome the heavy legacy of Maoism, leading the country out of the impasse (Jones and Smith). The situation with Equality 7-2521 is similar when the living conditions of people are meager, and any attempts to express individuality are punished. The collectivism of all countries has always been reflected in history and consists in the fact that people have their values and traditions peculiar to the collective of each country – its people. The author writes: “We are one in all and all in one” (Rand 3). The enslavement of the individual to the collective, regardless of the group’s race, class, or state affiliation, is what Ayn Rand refers to as “collectivism.” In such circumstances, a person is not seen as an independent being with an existence of their own but rather as a member of a group whose primary function is to meet that group’s requirements.

The ruling class in Equality 7-2521 tries to instill an “ant colony” attitude where people replicate the self-sacrificing lives of insects for the greater welfare of the collective. The goal of the government is to eradicate all notions of uniqueness from human nature and, with it, all aspects of active personal existence. Each individual is identified by a broad collectivist principle, such as equality, internationalism, or solidarity, rather than by their own unique name. The reason that each person has a number associated with their collectivist identity is also explained by this endeavor to eradicate all aspects of individuality. No one is exceptional or distinctive because the state believes that individuality is illusory; instead, people are interchangeable components of a larger whole.

The Motivational Success of Individuality and Freedom

In her writings, Ayn Rand presents people who must weigh crucial options and occasionally decide between life and death situations. The most prominent example is Equality 7-2521; however, she is not the only character in the story to undertake questionable decisions. He could opt not to ponder the Unspeakable Word, but he does. He does not want to submit to the Council’s demands; therefore, he wants to keep the tunnel’s existence and his experiments a secret. Out of all the people in society, he chooses International 4-8818 and the Golden One for his close friends. Instead of surrendering his brightness and life to the Councils, he decides to flee into the woods.

To morally criticize the people for failing to maintain their own minds and spirits would be a disaster. They are not wicked, but the authoritarianism of the government has made them timid. Councils that demand slavish submission are wicked. The heroic characters instead pose the fascinating question of how they are able to maintain their own ideas in the face of such tremendous pressure to comply. The author states: “No… We are one…alone…and only… and we love you who are one… alone.. and only” (Rand 76). The aim of Ayn Rand is to extol the rare people who, against all conventional norms and teachings, are aware that their thoughts are precious and should not be ceded to authority.

One person cannot go against the whole system existing in the novel. Despite understanding how distrustful the system is for the people, the only thing such generous people can do is find others who share their position and escape, as shown in the novel. History has various examples of such an escapement of genius people being tortured by totalitarian governments. For example, many world-famous writers and poets, such as Brodsky and Nabokov, left Russia due to the USSR government’s persecution (Guzeva, 2019). As a result, the cultural heritage of the country is depleted. These people found the strength to escape being led by their identity as well as the main characters of the novel.

The Collectivist Model, Government Overreach and Control that Limits Innovation

This society’s leaders are not concerned with science or the truth. They must exert control over citizens’ thoughts in order to keep control over society. The repression of free thought is necessary for the conquest and maintenance of authoritarian authority. Therefore, freedom of speech, which includes freedom of thinking and expression, is outlawed forever by real-world tyrants, whether they be fascists, National Socialist, or communists. Although the dictators themselves are not particularly intelligent, they instinctively know that the mind is their adversary. In order to block any potential mind development, the government limits the freedom of speech: “… we must never speak of the times before the Great Rebirth, else we are sentenced to three years in the Palace of Corrective Detention” (Rand 4). Dictators understand that the rational mind is their most formidable enemy since intellectuals are only interested in the truth and not the arbitrary orders of power-hungry tyrants.

The intellect can find no refuge, no example like the United States to which one may travel in order to acquire an independent existence, if the entire planet is a worldwide dictatorship, as in Anthem, and if freedom does not exist anywhere on earth. The author demonstrates how the mind will be suppressed everywhere in such a situation. There will not be any innovative or creative thinking, scientific research, technical advancements, or industrial growth.

The currently existing example of such a situation is in North Korea. Due to the totalitarian regime established on the country’s territory, the government controls all the income and outcome informational flows. In 2019 Kim Jong Un expressed regret regarding the technological situation in the country (Williams, 2020). The innovative developments are entirely controlled, limiting the multicultural information exchange bounding the research and production. Such limitations allow the government to make the nation easily controllable because people have no other option for how free life can be.

Conclusion

The ability of illicit passion for enlightening and elevating is seen in Rand’s Anthem. In an undetermined future time and place when freedom and individual rights have been eradicated, the plot of Anthem is set. Equality 7-2521, the protagonist, is a bright young man who aspires to be a scientist but is forced to work as a street sweeper by a dictatorship that is afraid of his intellectual independence. The core of the anthem is the battle of Equality 7-2521 to think, live, and love on his terms and in opposition to the cruel regime. Ayn Rand uses her character’s struggle to defend people’s freedom to live their own lives and issues a warning about modern society’s unrelenting shift toward collectivism.

Works Cited

Guzeva, Alexandra. “7 Most Famous Russian Writers Who Migrated Abroad.” Russia Beyond, Web.

Rand, Ayn. Anthem. Signet, 1961.

Smith, Lamar and Jones, Martin. “The Strategy of the Mind: Maoism and Culture War in the West.” Military Strategy Magazine, Web.

Williams, Martin. “Technology Be a Silver Bullet for the North Korean Economy?” 38North, Web.

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