Review of Ayn Rand's "Anthem"

Ayn Rand’s masterpiece, Anthem, is disturbing and eerie - not because of violent subject matter, but because it reaches the core of what it means to be human. She creates a future utopian society in order to reveal the problems with certain ideologies and promote her own philosophy. In this society, there is no such thing as an individual. They are brainwashed to believe everyone is exactly the same, their place in society is given to them, they are not allowed to think, compare themselves to others, learn anything aside from their way of life and brainwashing chants, own anything, prefer anyone above another, etc. Rand artistically portrays this way of life through each character’s reference to themselves as “we.”

“Our name is Equality 7-2521, as it is written on the iron bracelet which all men wear on their let wrists with their names upon it. We are twenty-one years old. We are six feet tall, and this is a burden, for there are not many men who are six feet tall. Ever have the Teacher and the Leaders pointed to us and frowned and said: ‘There is evil in your bones, Equality 7-2521, for your body has grown beyond the bodies of your brothers.”

If the description of the city is not unsettling enough, Rand’s grammatical shift takes her message deep into the mind, emotions, and core of her reader’s being. As the story progresses, her character eventually discovers the bondage he is in when he breaks the laws of society and flees. Upon his liberation, he discovers the forbidden word: EGO.

“I AM. I THINK. I WILL.

My hands…My spriit…MY sky…MY forest…This earth is mine…

This, my body and spirit, this is the end of the quest. I wished to know the meaning of things. I am the meaning. I wished to find a warrant for being. I need no warrant for being, and no word of sanction upon my being. I am the warrant and the sanction.

It is my eyes which see, and the sight of my eyes grants beauty to the earth. It is my ears which hear, and the hearing of my ears gives its song to the world. It is my mind which thinks, and the judgment of my mind is the only searchlight that can find the truth. It is my will which chooses, and the choice of my will is the only edict I must respect.”

Though Rand’s political message is obvious, her philosophical message is quite involved. In her introduction, she claims to be a humanistic atheist. Rand believes everyone is born with a will and it should be exercised freely. To be human means to be able to exercise the will: to be an individual. The greatest value is the ability to rationally make choices. Likewise, the greatest sin upon mankind is the suppression of their will.

Her message of the innate individualism of human beings is true and portrayed brilliantly. Mankind is indeed born with a will and the desire to exercise it. Furthermore, it is impossible to entirely suppress this will. In the story, an elaborate society with fully brainwashed citizens and a strict discipline system are not enough to prevent the innate sense of the ego from emerging.

Despite the nuggets of truth, Rand’s belief that man’s self is ultimate reality and the chief value is mistaken. Upon reading her work, it is my proposition that she could also find friends in the Existentialist camp. In Existentialism, the emphasis is on becoming rather than being. Man’s existence precedes his essence; thus, his ability to choose is more important than the choice itself. In Rand’s philosophy, the unleashed will exercising full freedom of choice is more valuable than the choice itself. In other words, a choice is either good or bad based on how it is derived.

The greatest ontological problem is Rand’s attempt to create a basis for reality upon potentiality rather than actuality. The ultimate goal for man and the pinnacle of his existence is the ability to choose, or “choosing,” which is a potential. In contrast, for a Christian, the ultimate reality based upon actuality is “Yahweh is.” Upon this actual existence, everything else can be derived. Yahweh is the necessary being, the first cause, and thus the ultimate value. His existence is firm, never changing, and is the ultimate truth and lens by which man should view the universe. In Rand’s world, the number one value is an “imperfect action” known as the act of choosing freely and having an uninhibited will. There is no “is” in her ultimate reality; only becoming. Thus, there is no actuality; only potentiality.

My next task of research is to observe the connection between Ayn Rand and Sigmund Freud. Updates to come!