Collectivism In Anthem, By Ayn Rand

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Almost all books or pieces of literature set in the future or “dystopian” times depict a corrupted world, whether it be corrupted by aliens, monsters, zombies, or corrupted by too much control from governments. Anthem depicts the world being stripped of people's own individuality, going as far as not even having your own name and many other events of extreme collectivism. Rand does not directly tell the reader that she believes this is something that will happen in the future, as the future is unknown. I see the book as a huge warning to people.

In the book, Rand shows this extreme collectivism by using “we” instead of “I”, which further shows the reader the suppression of individualism in this fictitious world. I caught on to this very quickly …show more content…
Throughout Rand's book, the Council discourages and punishes citizens for personal thought and innovation. Rather than praise Equality 7-2521 for creating or rediscovering the lightbulb, the council shuns it, and even says it is dangerous since it was created independently.

A historical parallel to this extreme collectivism is Nazi Germany. Due to his collectivist values, Hitler killed hundreds of thousands of people. He killed these people simply because of a want for control and because he wanted a society with one specific race and kind of person.

There is also a modern-day parallel to this in North Korea, which is a communist country. North Korea shows collectivist values and also suppresses individuality. Citizens of North Korea cannot legally leave the country, and if they attempt to and are caught, they face many risks of cruel punishment, such as life in a political prison camp, torture, and forced labor. Citizens who get permission to leave the country are monitored and when they get back they must attend debriefs about North Korean beliefs. Many citizens also have collective punishment. If one family member does something wrong, they are all punished. They are also digitally isolated from the rest of the world, meaning no internet connection to the world, no international calls, and TV and radio stations must be approved by officials. They even go as far as having a specific list of haircuts that you can
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