A perspective on Rand's Anthem

Ayn Rand's Anthem is a haunting work of speculative fiction that predates Orwell's 1984. Both novels, however, feature a future world where an oppressive government has put strict social controls in place. Rand wrote her novel in 1938 and Orwell began writing his in 1945. So, Rand's version of a future world where a collective ruled society came before Orwell's which expounded upon Hitler-style propoganda and brutal social control. This makes a lot of sense considering that the details of the Nazi techniques could be extrapolated when Orwell wrote -- and deserved deep consideration.

The birthplace of Ayn Rand definitely impacted her choice to create a grand collective. She grew up in Russia and left for the U.S. right after the Bolshevik Revolution. Her opinions on the collective approach made her diametrically opposed to the philosophy her country had chosen. So, in my opinion, she needed to warn the public against the eventual outcome of such a social structure.

In the world Rand creates, leaders need to eliminate the sources of communication that could harm their collective vision. So, in Anthem the world no longer uses electricity. Her thinking was obviously prescient but it was also paradoxical considering that we're actually starting to eliminate the written pages Rand used for electronic pages we're rapidly adopting.

If you've never read Anthem, definitely read it. It's a brief novel (aka novella) but it packs a punch. Rands style is very poetic in this book which makes it a joy to read considering the gloomy circumstances. At the end, the human spirit is key to Rand's vision. I'd like to think she's right about people...she has been so far.