Dystopian Society In Ayn Rand's Anthem

Anthem is a dystopian novel written by Ayn Rand that takes place in a futuristic world in which, in theory, the human mind is not individual, but should be melded with its fellow citizens. There was no greater honor than to carry out the will of your brothers. However, although appearing to be a utopian society, it was actually a society full of cries of suffering, stifled by fear and mindless obedience to a government that had lost sight of the beauty of individualism, arguably, the most human of all of our traits. The protagonist of the novel, Equality, realizes this through the discovery of electricity, which had long been lost to his people. Unlike the rest of mankind, Equality was not motivated to this discovery through the “honor” of
Egoism, the means by which Equality was motivated to make his discovery, is a way to end the silence. When people think of themselves, they voice their personal opinions, which promotes a progressive society. Take, for example, the United States. Part of the reason culture in this country is so innovative and forward is that people have the right to share their opinions and beliefs, no matter how offensive they are to other groups. Egoism did something similar in Equality’s life. Suddenly, without being governed by how society thought he should think, he thought for himself. As he became more enamored by scientific discovery, Equality says this: “We do not care. We forget all men, all laws and all things save our metals and our wires. So much is still to be learned! So long a road lies before us, and what care we if we must travel it alone!” (54) Because he was motivated by personal gain, Equality was able to approach science and make his discovery through different eyes than those of a man entirely devoted to his people. There is nothing wrong about thinking this way. Additionally, the discovery of electricity led later to Equality’s discovery of the word “I”. After this, he says “I shall call to me all the men and women whose spirit has not been killed within them and who suffer under the yoke of their brothers. They will follow me and I shall lead them to my fortress” (101) Because Equality was willing to
Although we think of egoism today as something to be repressed in the human spirit, in actuality, it can accomplish great feats. This is clear, as the lack of “ego” in Anthem led to a society stuck in the dark ages, devoid of personality and innovation. If everybody in Equality’s world had embraced the human ego, the problems that Equality faced in the story never would have been problems at all. In fact, despite anything that occurred that led to the loss of knowledge as we see in Anthem, humans working for their own benefit would have led to the collective benefit of society as we see it today. If they had accepted the importance of individualism, then Equality’s ideas could have been accepted, as well as countless others. The unmentionable word, “I”, could be mentioned in everyday speech. Eventually, there would be no boundaries or limitations as we see in Anthem. The right to pursue your best interests is freedom. Egoism is