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Essay / Philosophy under a strict social system in "Anthem" by Ayn Rand
Philosophy is originally a kind of goal in life, but in an extremely prosperous world, not everyone may have not the happiness he deserves. Anthem, written by Ayn Rand, depicted such a dystopian world. It is sad that people's fate has been imprisoned under the environment from the beginning. In such a harsh social system, all technological advancements are monitored and planned, and all actions and ideas of individuals must always serve the highest collective interests. From a certain point of view, this deviates from the very meaning of “reason” and “spirit” in philosophy. Therefore, this mechanized, egoless environment and seemingly extremist slavery make the philosophy of the novel easy to arouse ambiguity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayFirst of all, in terms of social mobility, Anthem builds a society that follows the system of respecting society's values in its whole. Interpreting the satire of socialism and discontent with communism, she describes an extreme collective world. Although everyone should have their own personality, we must not let ourselves be limited by distorted rules. The over-unification of each person, the consumption of each individual's personality will certainly cause suffering to many people. Much like Equality 7-2521, the protagonist of the story, only uses plural pronouns to write the story and fights for his "curse". Deeply devastated by the social system, he published “And the questions don't give us rest. We don't know why our curse pushes us to search we don't know what, always and forever. But we cannot resist it.” The gradual loss of human rights due to excessive pursuit of collectivism also occurred in China during the Cultural Revolution. From May 1966 to October 1976, the Cultural Revolution experienced the most serious setback and loss for the Party since the founding of the People's Republic of China. This was theoretically a direct appeal to the masses. In fact, he not only broke away from the Party organization, but also brought serious disasters to the Chinese country and people. During the Cultural Revolution, relationships between people changed. Some family members also fight against each other, thereby demarcating boundaries between them. During this period, people not only suffered from the loss of the right to read, but also from the betrayal of their families. Compared to the Cultural Revolution, Rand's philosophy is correct to a certain extent, but because of its extreme, it obviously causes a lack of ego in people. Additionally, acquired success is another element that makes Rand's philosophy controversial. The society itself has a high level of material civilization. Everything is so automated there that people don't have to worry about anything other than valuing society as a whole. It seems that economic prosperity and the pleasure of living have become the only philosophy, even the only religion, of this dystopian society. Every character is too mechanized to think for themselves, except for Equality 7-2521 and his friends. Too insipid a life makes people not have much consideration and pursuit of freedom, so they live blindly according to social regulations. This is why Equality 7-2521 states that “The fortune of my spirit must not be blown into pieces of brass and thrown to the wind as alms for the poor of spirit. I keep my treasures: my thoughts, my will, my freedom. And the greatest of them..