The Role Of Individualism In Ayn Rand's Anthem

Imagine a society where individualism is frowned upon. Where self gain and expression are outlawed and imagination is considered a sin. Ayn Rand’s dystopian novel Anthem paints an interesting picture on a society that is all about selflessness. In this novel Ayn Rand warns against blindly depending on your government for everything and the consequence of a society that has done everything to make everyone equal. But is striving to be concerned for our fellow man really all that bad or is it actually the most glaring fault in our government.

The characters in Anthem show us the dangers that can arise from having a population totally dependent on the government. The most obvious problem would be what would happen to people’s ability to think for themselves. In Anthem almost all the character, with a few exceptions, except what their government tells them and never

This book has characters that display an extreme sense of ethical altruism. The society in anthem is so fair and equal that none of the characters show any individualism. It takes the main character nearly all of the novel to finally learn what it means to be “selfish” and keep some things for himself. This is something that Ayn Rand calls ethical egoism. However, is this a method that can be really be applied to today’s society and is it alright to have it? There should definitely be a balance between how much ethical egoism and ethical altruism you display. You should try your best to care and look out for others but there are some things that a person has to be selfish about. There are things that people will always need help with and circumstances that will require people to be kind and helpful. On the other hand sometimes you have to put your own happiness and self before anyone else’s. It’s not that you don’t care about people it’s just that sometimes you have to come