Collectivism is a failed ideology. There has never been a successful collectivist society and there never will be, save those in works of fiction. That being said, any time collectivism is portrayed with any degree of accuracy such as in Ayn Rand’s Anthem, the society must be portrayed as the tyranny that it is. As with every work of fiction however, there are always people who will believe that certain elements of that fiction will be viable in the real world, regardless of how many times they fail. Anthem depicts a collectivist society in which all people are attempted to be made equal and all forms of innovation are completely controlled by the shadowy government and the council of scholars. It is a society that sees such important and …show more content…
The reason that this happens is built into collectivism itself and it is identified perfectly in the speech The Soul of a Collectivist when it is said “The soul, Peter, is that which can’t be ruled. It must be broken.”, In saying this Ellsworth correctly and perfectly identifies why collectivism has and will always inevitably require great bloodshed. It is the simple fact that collectivism is purely antithetical to human nature. Human nature is not purely good, it is not purely evil either, at its base level the only thing that human nature can accurately be called is purely self-serving. If given the option between saving themselves or saving someone else the vast majority of people will save themselves whether they see that as a moral good or not. In order for collectivism to work, you must circumvent this inconvenient truth by attempting to take control of people’s emotions and making them feel as though they are doing evil by being self-serving. As illustrated by the entire novella anthem, though doing this is likely not impossible to achieve, it
In Anthem by Ayn Rand International 4-8818 agrees to keep Equality 7-2521’s secret of the tunnel under the ground because much like Equality 7-2521, International 4-8818 is different than the rest of the people in the place they live in. This is because while Equality 7-2521 explains how he found the hole that led to the tunnel he talks about International 4-8818 and explains that, “they are a tall, strong youth and their eyes are like fireflies, for there is laughter in their eyes. We cannot look upon International 4-8818 and not smile in answer. For this they were not liked in the Home of the Students, as it is not proper to smile without reason. And also they were not liked because they took pieces of coal and they drew pictures upon the
Unlike during the Unmentionable Times, when men created “towers [that] rose to the sky,” it is an affliction to be born with powerful intellectual capacity and ambition in Ayn Rand’s apocalyptic, nameless society in Anthem. Collectivism is ostensibly the moral guidepost for humanity, and any perceived threat to the inflexible, authoritarian regime is met with severe punishment. The attack on mankind’s free will and reason is most evident in the cold marble engraving in the Palace of the World Council: “We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, One, indivisible and forever” (6). Societal norms force homogeneity and sacrifice among all people.
What exactly inspires people to create great things? Because they are doing it for their own benefit. In the novella written by Ayn Rand titled, Anthem, Equality 7-2521 is motivated to experiment and discover, but not because he is intending to assist his brothers and all of the population. Equality, although he had hoped to join the Home of the Scholars, works as a street sweeper trapped in a collectivist society where all of forms of individuality are banned. At the beginning of the story, Equality discovers a secret, underground tunnel where he slowly starts to discover technologies from the unmentionable times.
Collectivism: Comparing Anthem and Eye of the beholder Collectivism is the idea of putting the wants and needs of a group over a single person's. Collectivism is the basis of two societies in two separate pieces of work, Anthem by Ayn Rand and Twilight Zone episode Eye of the Beholder, written by Rod Serling. The leaders of these societies call upon similar rhetoric devices and radical ways to maintain a submissive and oppressed society.
In Ayn Rand’s novella, Anthem, mankind is a philanthropic machine. The brotherhood nobly works together to achieve a common goal. In doing so, each man is asked to disregard his own personal means and goals. For every decision must be a collective thought and every advancement, a joint action. However, one man in this machine malfunctions.
Anthem’s society is dystopian world where all human advancements and technology are absent. Individualism is seen as a sin and is shunned by the citizens. The citizens have been stripped of any solitary rights and only live to serve their brothers around them. Equality was a City Street Sweepers that had always been told that he was different from his brothers; both mentally and physically. Nevertheless, he still worshiped the principles of his world like the people around him.
“Rules are made to be broken”, is an influential quote, well known in our society. It symbolizes rebellion and breaking free from authority. Ayn Rand’s dystopian novel, Anthem, is an anthem for that phrase. Anthem explores the dangers of conformity and subjectivism, and urges readers to follow the beat of their own drum, to be their own leader. She uses Equality 7-2521 to showcase the idea of the natural human tendency that people have to be selfish.
Ayn Rand’s novel Anthem depicts a collectivist society in which members are shunned for being different, and are not allowed to act or think as an individual. On a stage set many years in the future, Rand gives the reader a unique insight into her individualistic views in which she highlights the dangers of this collective society through the leaders in Anthem using propaganda, fear, and the restriction of knowledge in order to enslave the minds of their subjects. Through this, Rand is also able to share her insight on collectivism in which she believes that collectivism is evil, nonsensical, and impractical. First of all, Ayn Rand’s novel exemplifies the ridiculousness and evil contained in a collective society by showing how the leaders of
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.
For my collage, I chose individualism as the big idea for “Anthem,”by Ayn Rand. The reason I chose individualism is because throughout the story Equality expresses individualism in everything he does. Some of the pictures I chose would single out one particular thing, making the one that was different an individual. I also chose a zebra to represent individualism, because not one zebra has the same pattern, though they may not be trying to be unique, they are. Individualism does not have to be represented with only pictures, but it can also be represented through many quotes.
How could losing individuality affect a society? The novel Anthem by Ayn Rand is about a guy named Equality 7-2521 who is trying to find himself in a society where everything is controlled and different. Later, he finds himself even though he will have to go through many obstacles to get there. The process behind losing individuality in an Anthem’s society are in forcing strict laws, brain washing of their citizens, and removing of family. The Anthem society in forcing of strict laws made it easy for everyone to lose their individuality.
Collectivism and Selfishness in Anthem Imagine living in a world where everybody's lives are completely mapped out by the government. Where every decision is made without the input of the citizens it affects. In the novella Anthem, Ayn Rand depicts a completely collectivist society, where every idea, action, and invention is purely for the benefit of society as a whole. Everything is done with the entire population in mind, and individuality is extremely frowned upon.
Objectivism in Ayn Rand’s Anthem Ayn Rand established her philosophy of objectivism in order to eliminate the traditions she experienced while she was growing up under collective governments, and to emphasize the importance of the individual over the collective group. It can be defined as a philosophy for living stating that man himself is the greatest power, and man must decide what is best for himself based on reason. The four basic tenets of objectivism are reality exists as an objective absolute, reason is man’s only method of interpreting his surroundings, man must exist as an individual in order to pursue his own interests, with the ultimate goal being happiness, and the economy of an objectivist society should be laissez-faire capitalism,
Victory Over Collectivism “I”, one of the only one-letter words in the English language. Yet its power and meaning do not match its quantitative value. In the collectivist dictatorship found the in the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, this word has disappeared and consequently, society has fallen into a dark age, all because of the loss of a single-lettered word. However, the hero of this time, Equality 7-2521, breaks down the barrier of the collectivist society and allows him to make advances that show him the power of the word “I” and the idea of individualism in government and in society. Although the word “I” has vanished from society, Equality is able to free himself from the collectivist government through the use of science and free thought,
Also they believe in putting other needs higher than self. Collectivism originates from a Buddhist philosophy. Buddhism is a frequently noticed religion throughout eastern Asia. Collectivism focuses on the importance of family and having honor.