The City In Ayn Rand's Anthem

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Science and technology are responsible for where the human race is today. Science is responsible for mankind’s creations like modern medicine and the ability to travel to space. Just as technology is responsible for the human race’s ability to have computers in the hands of mankind and to communicate with another person that is on the other side of the globe. Science and technology have become so intertwined with life that it seems impossible to live without it; though, the citizens of the City in Ayn Rand 's Anthem know how to do just that. In Anthem, society has been reverted back to a technologically primitive state after something known as the "Great Rebirth." The City has a council that is referred to as the Council of Scholars, and it control everything that happens within the City and are the reason why only the use of the candle is allowed. The Council restricts technological and scientific advancement because of the firm belief that mankind does not need to evolve and to do so would destabilize its control over society. …show more content…

The Council has left society in this state because they believe that mankind does not need to evolve. Their reasoning behind this could be because of what happened before the events of Anthem. In Anthem, there was a great war between one group of people known as the Evil Ones. This war resulted in the defeat of the Evil Ones and the destruction of everything related to them. This then led to the Great Rebirth, the City being one of the products of this event. The Council may look at the war and the chaos it wrought and they may see the advancement of science and technology as a strong contributing factor to the outbreak of the war. Therefore, they block human progression because they fear that it would lead to another