Socialist Future In Ayn Rand's Anthem

Anthem by Ayn Rand is the story of Equality 7-2521 living in a primitive, socialist future. Society has become nearly the perfect representation of Marx's ideals. The word “I” no longer exists because the individual no longer exists. “We” is used in place of “I” because life is all about mankind working as a collective unit. Every aspect of life is controlled by a council that makes all the decisions for everyone. Children are raised together in collective housing all their lives, and as a consequence, they are all expected to be the same. Equality 7-2521 breaks the mold. He is far smarter than his brothers and is punished in school for it. He is taller, better looking, and stronger than his brothers as well. The higher powers in the novel realize that he is a threat to them …show more content…
Equality 7-2521 wishes to share his discovery with his society because of the unlimited potential he sees within it. He takes his invention to the World Council of Scholars to show them what he has done. The council was furious. Equality 7-2521 had broken numerous laws closely associated with Marxist philosophy, such as working alone and thinking independently (Marx). The council says that the invention cannot be used because candles have just been discovered and introducing this new technology would hurt the existing industry. Through this scene in the novel, Rand illustrates the backwardness of collectivist philosophy by characterizing the government control over the growth of technology (Peikoff). Limiting the natural development of technology for the “good of the whole” is a sin against mankind because technology is mankind's greatest concept. Constantly improving, innovating, and developing new things is what makes man great. According to Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism, it is inherently wrong for any entity to decide how technology develops because its development is a process that happens spontaneously and