Ayn Rand's Anthem - Perils of collectivism
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. My analysis suggests that Objectivism is at odds with all forms of collectivism, including religious ones.
I believe all religions essentially tend to negate the "Self" and promote selflessness. Similarly, some scholars define the Marxist school of thought as an extension of religion’s collective humanist ideals, merely framed in a different way. In this context, Marxism is remarkably similar to religious dogma in its demand for self-denial. While comparing Marxism to religion might seem preposterous to some, I am analyzing this from a fresh perspective: that of individual perception.
The Context of the Author
Ayn Rand escaped the Stalinist USSR at the age of twenty-one, seeking the freedom to explore her talent in the USA. As a budding creative artist, she must have felt suffocated by the shackles of Soviet society. I feel that her harrowing experiences in a collectivist state are what compelled her to write Anthem.
A World Without "I"
The story is set in a dystopian society where individuals have no place and the "collective will" is imposed on everyone. There is no room for personal aspiration; the destiny of every person is decided by the state. The protagonist, a brilliant youth named Equality 7-2521, accidentally discovers a tunnel—a rare place of solitude. In this secret location, he conducts clandestine research (remember, this was written in the 1930s) and eventually rediscovers electricity and the lightbulb. During this time, he also meets the heroine, The Golden One, a proud peasant girl, near his secret tunnel.
Equality 7-2521 hopes to present his discovery to the World Council. However, before he can do so, he is caught for being late to his assigned work and is incarcerated. When he finally shows his invention to the Council, hoping for atonement, they react with fury. Rather than celebrating his genius, they confiscate his work and threaten him with death for the "sin" of acting alone.
The Escape to Liberty
Equality 7-2521 escapes to the "Uncharted Forest," followed by the Golden One. There, they live together in freedom, finally at liberty to do as they please. This is the crux of Anthem.
The lesson I took from this story is that the human spirit is uncontrollable. The drive to act according to one's own free will is the only thing that is truly natural. Rand uses this narrative to convey the suffering she witnessed under the "communist experiment." This story clearly served as the inspirational spark for her formal development of Objectivism in later years.
Final Thoughts
Anthem offers a diametrically opposite view to the Marxist idea that collective societal planning is the solution to human problems. As far as I can see, Marxist thought offers no leverage to the individual, focusing entirely on the macro-level of society.
In contrast, Rand—much like certain strains of Eastern thought—grants the utmost importance to the individual. However, the nuances of how her theory compares to Marxism and Indian philosophy are a deep subject for another discussion..
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