They’ve adopted collectivism so fully they can’t even see themselves as individuals, only as members of a group. But these political evils are possible, in Rand’s view, only because the people in Anthem accept collectivism as a moral ideal: It’s not just a crime to be alone or to have personal values, it’s a sin - a moral transgression. Enslaved to all mankind, they have no freedom to choose their work or anything else. People are told when to wake, when to eat, when to work, when to sleep. In Anthem’s totalitarian society every aspect of life is dictated by the state. He is “cursed” with an active, questioning mind in a society where every institution aims to crush independence and instill obedience to the authority of the collective. But what crimes has he committed? Being alone, writing, having personal preferences. May we be forgiven!"Įquality 7-2521 tells us he is a sinner and criminal. The laws say that men may not write unless the Council of Vocations bid them so. And we know well that there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone. It is as if we were speaking alone to no ears but our own. It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see. In a world where the great "we" reign supreme, he has rediscovered the lost and holy word-"I." A True Classic that Belongs on Every Bookshelf! Now he has been marked for death for committing the ultimate sin. In a purely egalitarian world, Equality 7-2521 dares to stand apart from the herd-to think and choose for himself, to discover electricity, and to love the woman of his choice. Despite such a restrictive environment, the spark of individual thought and freedom still burns in him-a passion which he has been taught to call sinful. Equality 7-2521 lives in the dark ages of the future where all decisions are made by committee, all people live in collectives, and all traces of individualism have been wiped out. In Anthem, Rand examines a frightening future in which individuals have no name, no independence, and no values.
It is its own purpose.” ― Ayn Rand, Anthem Anthem has long been hailed as one of Ayn Rand's classic novels, and a clear predecessor to her later masterpieces, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.
“My happiness is not the means to any end.
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