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Theme Of Collectivism In The World Of Anthem

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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 …show more content…

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 …show more content…

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

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Mr. Keating is a new English teacher at an all-boys school that is known for its traditions and high standards. He uses unique methods to reach out to his students, who are faced with enormous pressures from their parents and the school. With Mr. Keating's help, students Neil, Todd and others learn to break out of their shells, pursue their dreams and seize the day. Anthem is a dystopian fiction novella that takes place at an unspecified future date where mankind has entered a dark age where the concept of individuality has been eliminated. In Anthem, written by Ayn Rand and The Dead Poets Society, directed by Peter Weir, it is easy to see that they both include objectivism, conformity and the different viewpoints on life both characters had.

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The question is about the advancement (or lack thereof) of technology and how the nature of science is effected by the speed of its growth. First we should talk about the town and its political structure. We know that the town and the others around them all have the same totalitarian view of society since the only things they can do are things agreed upon by the World Council of Scholars (60). This, in theory, does not sound too bad of an idea but when used can slow down the growth of anything to a crawl. For example, in the book, Equality 7-2521 was showing the council their invention, the light, this in time would help to light more buildings faster with more efficiently then the candle they had then and give warmth through the heat emitting from the light.

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Individuality allows every person to be themselves and be different from each other. However, In Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem, Rand describes a society where the people were not allowed to openly be themselves, or else they would be punished for being different. The main character, Equality, notices he is different slowly throughout the novella, but kept continuing to be like everyone else for awhile. These rules exist in this society to strip human individuality in order to achieve total equality.

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Ego. Egoist. Egoism. We hear these words, but do we really know what they mean? Are they good or bad?

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The Road to Individualism Every great heroin will face a plethora of conflict in their journey. For Equality, it is not any less. Equality faces internal and external conflict in his path to heroism, faces conflict with others, but also himself. As his desire for a new life grows, more problems arise.

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In our society, people are motivated in lots of different ways. This can create both positives, such as putting a man on the moon, and negatives, such as war and starving people. Anthem is a story about a man who is going against his collectivist society in his search for individuality. Equality’s main motivation is to discover new things and new ideas in the world around him, as well as to try to figure out who he is as an individual. His motivation is correct because he enables the thought of free will, and the world could become a better place if everyone was motivated like Equality.

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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.

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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.

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In the book Anthem the societies work together and work as a unit to get everything done, compared to our society where we work as individuals and do things by ourselves. For insistence in Anthem there are multiple groups such as street sweepers or the scholars all of them have someone in charge and they make all the calls. Unlike in our society where we make calls for ourselves like when we go to bed and where we want go and spend our nights and what jobs we want to have. Some ways our societies differs are at the age of 15 all the boys are assigned to a task for the remainder of his life.

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Moral Assessment of Anthem In Ayn Rand’s novel, Anthem, Equality lives in a communist society that believes everyone must work for and be exactly like one another. For much of the novel, he believes what the Council of Vocations tells him, despite his intelligence and independence. By the end of the book, he realizes that the idea that everyone is the same and must work for each other is flawed. He deserves to live his own life and enjoy himself.

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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,

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A country that is opposite of the society in Anthem is the United States. We live in a democratic society where our rights and freedoms are protected under the Constitution. For the most part, individualism is encouraged and the society has been growing and developing throughout the course of history. Unlike Anthem, children stay with their parents after birth in order to develop their own personalities and thoughts. Although the school system is not perfect and does not mold to each child’s learning, the teachers are working on developing different alternatives for students that learn differently.

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Everyone is born with independence, but imagine a society where this virtue is ceased. In the novel “Anthem” written by Ayn Rand, she describes a society in which everyone is the exact same. Equality 7-2521 and Liberty 5-3000 are two characters that live under a strict and controlling rule, in which they make decisions for you. As they story goes on, the two characters discover love, freedom, liberty, and independence. To Equality, being similar to his brothers was not equal, he believes that the meaning of “I” celebrates joy and peace within a society.

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George Washington once said, “If the freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” I agree with this quote, and feel that America should never lose this right, as it gives people freedom, unlike the society in the book, Anthem. In my opinion, America is not an Anthem society because America is a land of freedom, not censorship, due to our individual rights such as the freedom of speech, which gives us freedom of thought and expression. To start, America is not an Anthem society because America is a land of freedom, not censorship, to due to our individual rights, such as the freedom of speech. The freedom of speech is the ability to say what you like about any subject to any one.

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Lastly, the ambivalent connection between technology and society will be discussed. The advancement of technology in society correlates with global change. Technology determinism refers to the notion that technology serves as an agent to promote social change and transform the natural environment (Murpie & Potts, 2003). Cultural materialism refers to the relationship between technology and culture (Murphie and Potts, 2003). Technological determinism is a reductionist theory and it primary focuses on the advancement of social structure and cultural values (Veblen, 1857–1929).

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