Anthem: How Does One Lead A Rational Life In An Irrational Society

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Anybody can learn to think, or believe, or know, but not a single human being can be taught to feel... the moment you feel, you are nobody but yourself in a society which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else. In a community where you are told how to live and where you are confined to fit into a society where everyone has to work together or society fails and where the concept of individuality is forbidden and collectivism is favored. That is the negligent society in which Equality 7-2521 is compliant to live in.
“We were born with a curse. It has always driven us to thoughts which are forbidden. It has always given us wishes which men may not wish. We know that we are evil, but there is no will nor power in us to resist it. This is our wonder and our secret fear, that we know and do not resist.” (18). Throughout the story we progressively …show more content…
In Ayn Rand's short essay she talks about having to speak out against the irrationality, thinking just as Equality would. Ayn Rand is specifically discussing the expression of one’s morals, precisely the moral judgment of others. Someone who does not understand objectivism may stumble upon that sentence and be outraged. Judging people is bad, everyone should get along, etc. As with the idea of selfishness, the meaning of moral judgment in this case does not mean strutting around declaring those below you for this or that reason. But Equality would agree with Rand that “nothing can corrupt and disintegrate a culture or a man’s character as thoroughly as does the precept of moral agnosticism.” (para. 2). People with strong moral character would not generalize, but express and celebrate diversity when asked or seen. They would not or should not simply declare their opinions aggressively just to get someone on the same page as

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In our society today, are the leaders of our country always in the right? Some people would answer that they are not sure to this question, shying away from giving an actual answer in order not to give their opinion. Many people, however, would gladly answer the question, having a strong belief in whether or not their government’s actions were for the benefit of the people. In Ayn Rand’s essay, How Does One Lead a Rational Life in an Irrational Society?, she suggests that when these leaders are voted…

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Anthem is a fictional work written by the célèbre philosopher and author, Ayn Rand. In the story, the protagonist, a boy named Equality 7-2521, begins to question the utopian community built around him, an action triggered by the accidental discovery of knowledge kept from him. Rand is characteristic for her depiction of communism through her writing, considering she reflects her own negative personal experiences with that particular governing system. The proposition or focal point of Anthem is interrelated…

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