Theme Of Collectivism In Ayn Rand's Anthem

Individualism vs Collectivism in our Science and Technology

At Delta High school, a student may choose to either work alone or to collaborate with a group in order to finish a project. Both choices offer pros and cons when it comes to efficiency and the quality of work. In a group setting, students may get sidetracked, or the group itself may not be able to function properly. On the other hand, group projects allow broader opinions and valuable peer reviews. Choosing to do independent work will benefit the student’s work ethic, but will also increase the work load. So which is the better choice? The answer is found in the history of the world’s progress in science and technology. Technology does not excel solely from independent work, nor does

it solely excel through group collaborations. Accomplishments are made from individuals who have built on the foundation of others’ past knowledge.
We do not truly rely on each other to excel.

In Ayn Rand’s Anthem, its society models the extremes of collectivism, where nothing is accepted unless it is created by a group of people: “The laws say that none among men may be alone, ever and at any time, for this is the great transgression and the root of all evil” (Anthem by Ayn Rand). It is a society where selfishness is a sin, and everything is done for the sake of the whole community. In the novel, the main character discovers electricity and, when confronting the community’s leaders, is scorned by them because of his independence and the foreign nature of the electricity because “What is not done collectively cannot be good,” (Anthem by Ayn Rand, page 75). That does mean that we truly must work as individuals to accomplish anything. When studying the history of inventions and innovations, it is clear that respected scientists, astronomers, and philosophers relied on the works and research of the past even though they stood as individuals. The history of humanity is based on collective learning, the building on, preserving, and sharing of knowledge over time. Collective learning is a healthy medium between collectivism and individualism. Without it, our technology and knowledge would remain

stagnant.
It is clear that the world’s knowledge has progressed greatly, but that knowledge was not obtained alone.

As humans, we learn from the world around us, but we also learn from others. The geocentric view, the idea that the earth was the center of the universe, was supported for hundreds of years. It was not until Nicolaus Copernicus when the heliocentric view, the idea that the sun was the center of the universe, was introduced. Copernicus was mocked for such a bizarre idea, but a man named Galileo Galilei believed in Copernicus’ works and used it as a foundation for the evidence that he found which supported the heliocentric view. Although it was only after generations had passed, the heliocentric view became widely accepted thanks to the individual thinkers who used others’ theories and discoveries as cornerstones to their own. Even in schools, students are given past knowledge as the foundation to create their own opinions and hypotheses from. They are not taught what to think, but how to think. From United States History to literature, it is evident that an individual’s knowledge cannot be nourished without the knowledge and discoveries of others. In Anthem, the protagonist begins his journey of knowledge through experimenting by himself. But he gains greater understanding when he discovers literature from the past. Because of the knowledge from the past through books, Anthem’s protagonist was able to grow and discover what it is to be an individual. In the end, the

protagonist writes: “I stand here on the summit of the mountain. I lift my head and I spread my arms. This, my body and spirit, this is the end of the quest. I wished to know the meaning of things. I am the meaning,” (Anthem by Ayn Rand, page 94).
Although working as individuals with independent opinions and agendas is very valuable, it is impossible to achieve a meaningful objective alone. Instead, a healthy medium between collectivism and objectivism—collective learning—is met in the history of the progress of science and technology. Collective learning is seen in classrooms and the progress from the geocentric model to the heliocentric model. Despite the author Ayn Rand’s objectivism views, the science and technology of humanity would remain primitive if it was not for collective learning—a collaboration of the group and the individual.