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          1984 - George Orwell - as relevant now as ever After reading my review of Ayn Rand's novel Anthem, one of my friends suggested reading George Orwell's writings. He was of the opinion that the concept of authoritarian collectivism had been dealt with more exhaustively in 1984 and Animal Farm, two of Orwell's masterpieces. In terms of size, both books are quite small and easy to read. But when we think of the impact, they certainly exert a huge influence on the reader's mind. There are some who would say that the novel 1984 was one of the reasons for Soviet-model totalitarian communism not taking root in parts of Europe. So popular was the novel that it certainly, along with other similar writings, contributed to anti-authoritarian thinking in those days in Europe and the USA. 1984 was written in the late 1940s after World War II, when the world was slowly trying to limp back to normalcy and conditions were quite fluid. Many pundits feared a takeover...

Review: Ayn Rand’s Anthem — The Perils of Collectivism Introduction Of the many books we read, only a few truly kindle and rekindle our thought processes. Ayn Rand’s Anthem is one of them. Most readers know Rand for her later masterpieces, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, and for her philosophy of Objectivism—a theory that places the primacy of the individual above the collectivist mindset. I strongly believe that the collective mindset is largely encouraged by religions and dogmatic systems like Marxism. Interestingly, Rand wrote this novella early in her career, and it serves as the thematic foundation for her later philosophical moorings. "I worship individuals for their highest possibilities as individuals, and I loathe humanity, for its failure to live up to these possibilities." — Ayn Rand The Philosophical Conflict The most fascinating aspect of this book is how it stands in direct opposition to Marxism—a concept that remains popular in many intellectual circles...