Summary Of Ayn Rand's Anthem

1. Health and Survival:
The society in Anthem is a very collectivist society, thus a single individual’s health and survival might not be as important as with an objectivist “society”. However, the society in Anthem does address health and survival in a collectivist way. By having the Old Ones not work and “the State take care of them” this society deals with one of the biggest health problems, old people (7). This society takes a socialist method of health care and the State provides for all of the Old Ones which shows how they are meeting the needs of health and survival. The society takes a different approach on survival. Because of the strong collectivism, individual lives do not matter and “there are no men but only the great WE”, as long as the WE survives any one person can die and the society will not care (3). Anthem’s society takes survival to mean the survival of the whole not the individual. This shows that society is not needed for the individual’s survival, as not only does this society provide little individual health care, Equality 7-2521 in the later part of Anthem is easily able to

survive by himself.
2. Governance and Maintenance;
The society in Ayn Rand’s Anthem takes a unique approach on governance and maintenance. Their current leaders from the Council of Vocations elect the next leader of all of the different Councils they would do this at a ceremony by calling “the Students’ names, and when the Student stepped before them, one after another, the Council said: ‘Carpenter’ or ‘Doctor’ or ‘Cook’ or ‘Leader’ “ (6). This has a large impact on the value of the individual, by assigning someone to farmer then the very next person a doctor, the farmer individual’s value would be lowered. Various Councils are assigned for maintenance, such as the Street Sweeper which Equality 7-2521 is assigned to, “the lips of the oldest did not move as they said ‘Street Sweeper’ “(6). This is how the society deals with maintenance; by assigning specific people to do the maintenance. By assigning people to such a menial labor job it would in both the society’s and individual’s eyes reflect a lower worth.
3. Social Norms and Relations:
Anthem’s society has very distinct social norms and relations.

Most of the social norms are unspoken norms that every individual does but does not realize. One of the norms is the lack of real names, “our name is Equality 7-2521” (1). By getting rid of individual names from the society, they are not only detracting from the individuality (their goal) but also their personal value, if your name is meaningless, then it can subtract value. The society also has unique social relations. “Men may not think of women, save at the Time of Mating.” (13) The society’s goal with this rule is to prevent preference, if men were allowed to think of women they would prefer some over the other and thus would make mankind not equal. This can reflect a low value on the individual because although they may want to think of women they cannot for the good of the

society.