Collective Vs. Individual In Ayn Rand's Anthem

Collective vs. Individual

What kind of society do you think we live in? Collective or individual? In Ayn Rand's book, Anthem, the main character Equality 7-2521 lives in a collective society that has been taught to only think about "the great we" (Rand 9) or to never think of themselves. Equality 7-2521 finds a place where he feels different and starts to invent "the power of the sky"(Rand 53) and inventing is considered somewhat of a transgression. When people figure out what he has done he must flee into the woods where he discovers what it's like to be alone and do things himself. Throughout this book as Equality 7-2521 character changes, readers are shown that leading a life in collectivism can take away freedom and happiness, but you

At first, Equality 7-2521 believed that "there are no men but only the great we…"(9) is true, but he only thinks that because those words are written on the Palace of the World Council. He hasn't had the chance to live for himself and he is talking about 'we' as in multiple people. But we see a slight change in the way he speaks after he has finished creating his invention by himself, he says "We made it. We created…We alone. Our hands…"(53). He uses 'we' as a substitute for 'I' changing the connotation of we. But he has also finally learned how it feels to do something by himself -he felt gratification- just as we might feel it too. When we see it go too far is when he talks about the word 'I' as "...[a] god who will grant [people] joy and peace and pride" (95), putting it above all others and worshiping it. He also talks about another word that would become "[his] beacon and [his] banner" (103), or in other words the word he will strive for, "The sacred word: EGO"

But what is objectivism? Ayn Rand described it as "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute" (ARCE). In short, your happiness is your own goal, not the collective, follow your head and take your feelings, or your heart, out of decisions, and if you can, strive to improve or make something of society. Ayn Rand grew up in a collective communist society. As she grew she also grew to hate being a part of the collective which is why she developed her philosophy of objectivism. There are most definitely some parts in this book that take things to the extreme but they are examples of two different sides of the 'pendulum'. On one side you have a community of people whose only purpose is to serve the collective and never think or do anything for themselves. But on the other side, you have a singular person that puts themselves above everyone else and talks all about me, me, me. This book doesn't need to be something that everyone reads but it also doesn't need to be taken away never to be read again, it should be an example to anyone who reads