Theme Of Collectivism In The World Of Anthem

Collectivism, or group prioritized decision making, is widely regarded as a negative attribute when isolated. The world of Anthem is an example of a world based off of collectivism, where the most recent technology developed is a candle, which recently replaced torches. The world is undeniably primitive in some areas, but is clearly not in others. Almost all economic and social aspects of the society seemed to have been developed years ago, yet almost no progress has been made in scientific areas. Science isn’t likely to be a large or common factor in collectivist societies, and scientific research has a positive correlation to technological advances resulting in the lack of development in technology. This impoverished technology likely occurs

Traits such as creativity, intelligence, and skepticism are highly valued and are noticeable in most famous scientists. For these reasons, it is logical that science is not highly valued in the totalitarian world in Anthem, since in the collectivist society, obedient and average people are rewarded, and people that stand out are punished. Equality 7-2521 knew he was smarter than his brothers, but stated “it is not good to be different from our brothers, but it is evil to be superior to them”, because the main concept of collectivism is unity, that “We are nothing. Mankind is all”, and by standing out, whether by being superior or inferior, you threaten that

The people assigned to make such discoveries are on the Council of Scholars. When one member of the Council of Scholars makes a discovery or creates an idea, they must present the concept before their brothers, who then hold a majority vote. In the world of Anthem, many people introduced new ideas, but since “the majority of their brother Scholars voted against them, they abandoned their ideas” (73). This is probably a factor in the primitive nature of technology, especially since the after the concept introduced to the Council of Scholars, it must then be confirmed by every Council for it to then be implemented. For the introduction of the candle, it took fifty years to gain the confirmation of all the Councils and to actually bring it into society, which could show why such slow progress is being made in scientific