Collectivism And Objectivism In Ayn Rand's Anthem

The infamous author Ayn Rand dedicated her life wholly to the study and furthering of her political dogma, Objectivism, the uniting theme throughout all of her published literary works. One of the most obtrusive examples is her novella Anthem, which is set in a futuristic yet inept dystopia that is entirely founded on principles of collectivism. Page by page Rand’s sentiments become glaringly obvious, subsequently causing the reader to question her motivation behind this story, their own agreement with her egocentric philosophy, how Christianity aligns with every aspect of it, and if, overall, it was adeptly written.
Living in early 20th century Russia was tumultuous, regardless of which socioeconomic class one belonged to, and Rand can only be described as a product of that. As a young child she witnessed the Bolsheviks come to power and the degradation of her family to the point of starvation, and

as an adult the rise of the communism, resulting in her beliefs in atheism, self-reliance, and rationalism above “superstition and mysticism.” Her experiences motivated both her writings and her creation of Objectivism, and became the sole theme of Anthem, the purpose of which being to depict the evils of collectivism and promote social and political independence. This became evident in the portrayal of the society that the protagonist lives in, which took several hundred years to invent a candle due to its own bureaucratic measures. However, Rand’s writing grows in resemblance to worship of the individual and made me weigh my own opinion of the worth of self versus community.
Everything Rand wrote was indicative of her personal ideologies, from the word “I” becoming an expletive to Equality’s clear abhorrence of his life being controlled, emphasizing his poignant anguish, his breathtaking escape, and ended the novella with the an avowal of “ego” being the very heart of the earth, and that it is sacred. Although independence has its merits, it is repulsive to see it glorified to this extent and to listen to Rand rave about the detriments of being in a collective group. Since the beginning of time the necessity of communal living has been apparent, exemplified by not only the hunter-gatherers, but also by Adam and Eve. It likewise negates the fact that all of humanity’s greatest achievements were made by groups, not individuals, such as the Great Wall of China and the determination of the structure of DNA. I do not agree with Rand’s mantra, and find it ridiculous to witness ego deified by an atheist. Moreover, as I am a Christian, to even entertain the possibility of agreeing with Rand I must first compare her philosophy with Christianity.
Objectivism can be summarized in Rand’s own words, found in the About the Author section of Atlas Shrugged, that her “… philosophy… [is man’s] own happiness as the moral purpose of his life… and reason as his only absolute.” When this is compared with other systems of thought or belief, it is quite prone to vacillation, as one’s happiness and their interpretation of reason may not coincide, and neither may account for morality.

In stark contrast to this dogmatic statement, the basis for a Christian attitude is found in 1 Peter 3:8-9, that “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” It is obvious that these two philosophies are not concurrent by any means of the word, thus eliminating any possibility of substantial agreement between them. Although Rand’s wholly repulses my belief system, I may still weigh the quality of her writing in a logical

fashion.