Individualism And Collectivism In Anthem, By Ayn Rand

The opposite of objectivism is collectivism, where individuality does not exist in the society whatsoever. With Rand’s creativeness, she created a collectivist society where life became a job, working for others, instead of a blessing. Throughout the novella, Anthem, Equality 7-2125 escapes this prison-like society and finds something rare; individual thoughts about himself, his own needs, and his own good. It is a fact Equality is smarter than the rest of his brothers, but the curiosity grew ahold of him and he urged to find truth rather than ignoring it like the rest of the society. Equality wonders to himself how those of his society can just be controlled by their government and watch everything unfold.“But I still wonder how it was possible,

In the book, Rand portrays a society in which individuality has been completely suppressed, and people are forced to conform to a strict set of rules and regulations.In this society, people are not allowed to have individual names, but are instead given numbers, and all aspects of their lives are tightly controlled by the state. This leads to a sense of conformity and sameness, in which people are unable to express their own unique thoughts and feelings. “There was no pain in their eyes and no knowledge of the agony of their body. There was only joy in them, and pride, a pride holier than it is fit for human pride to be.”(Rand) According to Rand, the individual was the most important unit of society and that collectivism, which subjugates the individual to the group, was the root of all evil. She believed that individuals should be free to pursue their own interests and that the government should have a limited role in society, mainly to protect individual rights and enforce contracts. Equality comes to his senses and learns he owes nothing to anyone but himself. "I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask none to live for me, nor do I live for any others. I covet no man’s soul, nor is my soul theirs to covet." (Rand*) Rand argues that when people are forced to conform to a collective, they lose their individuality, and their creativity and productivity suffer as

Millions of people around the world have used her beliefs to discard convention, grow internally as an individual, and actually live rather than just existing. Reality moves on with or without those who cannot keep up and although it is lamentable, most people cannot accept the facts of reality. Rand’s longest novel Atlas Shrugged (1957) goes into great depth about objectivism and individualism along with its importance to mankind. “Any refusal to recognize reality, for any reason whatsoever , has disastrous consequences. There are no evil thoughts except one: the refusal to think. Don’t ignore your own desires... Don’t sacrifice them. Examine their cause.” (Rand 387) Rand believes those who refuse to accept the facts of reality only end up hurting themselves in the end; when avoiding what comes in the way, it will forever be in the way of growth, and when growth is blocked, reality moves on. A more visual example Rand uses in her novel refers to one with a large ego who cannot accept that others could be equally or more knowledgeable/skillful “Any man who’s afraid of hiring the best ability he can find, is a cheat who’s in a business where he doesn’t belong. To me—the foulest man on earth, more contemptible than a criminal, is the employer who rejects men for being too good.” (Rand 665) When one cannot accept another has more value, knowledge becomes limited. Equality's rejection of