Altruism And Egoism In Anthem By Ayn Rand

Rand’s story ultimately leads to the conclusion that a society in which people lives collectivism is under strict planning and control. The collectivist society barred the individuals experience to develop their own thinking. Ayn Rand, introduces both cases to the narrative to show you the difference of both, but she ultimately believes that rational egoism is the way to live. Rational egoism cares oneself and promotes self interest. This is where Equality 7-2521 is freed from collectivism and introduced to a new political philosophy called rational egoism. Equality 7-2521 finds that rational egoism to the right way to live. He finds out about the word “I” and this ultimately gives the signification that rational egoism is illustrated in the narrative. Rational egoism is ultimately the cure of a collectivism. It shows that individuals will want their freedom. They would want to express their ideas as freely as possible. Equality 7-2521 expresses that he wanted his freedom from this society. They feel that collectivism is pressing on their opportunity to prosper. For example, Equality 7-2521 could not live under the collectivism because he wanted to introduce his new invention. In this situation, rational egoism is a cure of collectivism. Rational egoism promotes the idea of newer ideas, and gives individuals the opportunity to think outside of the

Ayn Rand taught the principle, “One must never fail to pronounce moral judgment.” The grade of morality fluctuates depending on the time, place, and society. While today’s society will compose the portrait that we are continually growing stronger and improving, the politics of men cannot overcome simple flaws such as controlling the people of their society. This is no different in the novella Anthem. The ironic name given to Equality gives the indication that perhaps society is not as equal as they would fancy. Equality has an internal conflict within the novella, which is, the mind must be free to act and think about its own findings. In Anthem, Ayn Rand shows her character, Equality 7-2521, of being critical of the totalitarian society

In our generation, we have a perspective of egoism as an individual being egotistical. When Ayn Rand wrote her novel The Anthem we noticed that she had a dissimilar outlook on egoism and collectivism. To have love for one’s self is not wrong nor should it be taken into context where it is considered selfish.

There's certain benefits to thinking this way though. It's very important to keep one's own happiness and well being at the forefront of their mind. People should not be expected to constantly cater to others. Selflessness is completely overrated. Equality is not wrong to want something for himself, especially after servicing others his whole life. But while Equality's outlooks aren't necessarily bad, there still needs to be balance. If everyone thought only about themselves, society would crumble. People have to rely on each other to an extent, and total selfishness would prevent this. That being said, someone can have selfish moments while still being a good person and caring for others. There doesn't have to be polar opposites when it comes to selfishness versus selflessness. There's so much emphasis on putting others before oneself that people often forget to look out for their own needs, as shown in this book. Ayn Rand successfully captures the negatives of an overrated ideology and presents an unorthodox perspective on the matter.

Have you ever wondered what the fine line between egoism and self esteem is? What is the meaning of egoism? What makes you an egoist? How can someone be an egoist. I think that Prometheus is a perfect example of an egoist because he only cares about his happiness, he is miserable working for others, and because he thinks he owes nothing to everybody.

The collectivist society created in Anthem by Ayn Rand, rules with a strict hand condemning anyone who chooses to speak out against it to harsh punishment, or worse, death. Equality 7-2521 lives his early life without understanding what individuality is and being entirely oblivious to emotions that are meant to be present in each human life. Through recounting his life, Equality 7-2521 is able to recognize how he always had an inner voice that was suppressed by his society because it was telling him to be an individual and put his personal wants above the wants of his fellow brothers. In a world where no one is able to think privately, Equality 7-2521 breaks away from the only moral belief system he has ever been taught and

The word “I” has a significant impact on our society. Its absence gradually lowers our society to have unjust expectations of people, and allow those expectations to influence our government. The book Anthem, by Ayn Rand, is an example of this occurrence. There is no use of the word “I”, “my”, or any word that implies individuality, as it has been prohibited by the government.

Individuality is defined as the quality that makes one person or thing different from all others. However, individuality does not exist in all societies. Anthem by Ayn Rand, is set in a dystopian society where collectivism is believed to be supreme, and individuality is considered taboo. Equality 7-2521 is a Street Sweeper who questions the collectivist society that he lives in. Equality 7-2521 is a gifted individual who is different from his peers in the fact that he has personal interests. Equality 7-2521 wants to be in the Council of Scholars so he can pursue his interest in science. However, the Council of Vocations gives him the job of Street Sweeper. During the novel Anthem, the Council of Vocations assigns the profession of Street Sweeper

Ayn Rand’s philosophy of human nature is perfectly exhibited in her outstanding novella ‘Anthem’. The central theme of the story, the individual versus the collective, is almost transpires in all her novels but Rand initiates the theme from this novella. This theme becomes an important element of her moral and political philosophy. The story takes place in a communist society that is unnamed where an individual has no rights of his own, and he has to live solely for the society and to serve it. The hero, Equality 7-2521 is a creative and innovative young man who longs to be a scientist but is condemned by the society and works as a street sweeper. In fact the government fears his independence of mind and restricts his development.

In the novel Anthem, Ayn Rand creates a society where individualism is a sin. The protagonist, Equality 7-2521 disagrees with the government’s beliefs of a collectivist society and supports the idea of individualism. Like on page 101, Equality 7-2521 realizes that "To be free, a man must be free of his brothers.” By this, Equality 7-2521 finally understands that he must be independent and different in order to succeed in his society. He displays Rand’s belief of egoism by his discovery of electricity, the way he stood up to the government, and how he shared his belief of individualism with Liberty 5-3000-also known as the Golden One-the beautiful peasant in which he fell in love with.

Ayn Rand’s Anthem gives an interesting take on what a society without a sense of individualism would look like. The main character of this book, Equality 7-2521, struggles with his life when he wants to take off on his own path and express his personal ideas, however everyone else meets these ideas with anger and skepticism. Everyone has been persuaded to believe that everybody is equal and no one has the right to have individualised thoughts. Equality 7-2521’s thirst for knowledge helps him break out of these chains. His desire to learn leads him to branch out and explore new things, helping him form new individualised thoughts. Ayn Rand’s Anthem shows that having a continuous desire to learn things does nothing but enhance your life and those around you. People should not fear knowledge, they should embrace knowledge.

“The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules but by people following the rules. It's people who follow orders that drop bombs and massacre villages.” -- Banksy, Wall and Piece. A civilization cannot function without a system of rules to create order and morality. However, the creators of the nameless, collectivist society in Anthem took this concept too far with the complete removal of individualism—the root of ego. This mistake subdued the thoughts and actions of individuals, which is what allows a society to flourish. While the city in Ayn Rand’s novella attempts to suppress ego through a complex system of laws and government controls, their endeavors ultimately fail because there is always someone whose

Friedrich Ludwig Jahn said, “The secret of living in peace with all people lies in the art of understanding each one by his own individuality.” To find peace and live in harmony, people need to know and embrace each person’s individuality. Although the people in Anthem are supposed to be happy and peaceful, they are not permitted to have a sense of individualism. Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem illustrates the importance of each person in society having an individual identity to true peace and happiness. Rand expresses this philosophy through the main character Equality who discovers freedom and self-worth for himself.

In her novel Anthem, Ayn Rand uses the character’s names as a symbol to push the idea that individualism among a collective society becomes absent, causing a self-sufficient, creative, and powerful person within the society to be destructed. In this society, the force in control utilizes the character’s names as a way to illustrate a lack of individuality. In the beginning of the story, the character’s names represent an idea of collectivism. The names of each person in the society are similar, and Equality 7-2521 explains, “Our name is Equality 7-2521, as it is written on the iron bracelet which all men wear on their left wrists with their names upon it” (Rand 18). Equality 7-2521 describes how names in the society function. In this case, the character’s names convey unity and collectivism. All forms of individuality are purposefully erased or forgotten; even the word “I” and the basic concept of oneself have been lost. This illustrates why the narrator refers to himself as “we” and why every character’s name is a symbol or adjective for a social concept, such as Liberty, Unity, International, and Equality. The names reveal the oppressive collectivism in the society of Anthem. Individuals just have stock names which reflect the collectivist social ideals, and then are literally given a number, following their stock name. Nothing in these names are expressive of individuality, which is a personality of a collective society. Furthermore, as the story

In this day and age, a world free of pride, inequality and selfishness seems like the solution to nearly all the world’s problems. Perhaps, without pride the world could see an end to war. However, could the resulting lack of personality hinder mankind’s progress? This altruistic society demonstrated in Anthem provokes one to ponder the true meaning and merits of a measure of personal pride, though any degree of an ego is generally frowned upon in today’s society. Through the actions of Prometheus in Ayn Rand’s novelette, Anthem and through the understanding the speech, “The Soul of an Individualist” from another Ayn Rand novel, Fountainhead, one can see that Prometheus’ actions show egotistical traits within him and consequently his self-preserving