Anthem

published	March 13th 2008 by Book Jungle
binding	Paperback
isbn	1605971162 (isbn13: 9781605971162)
ebook
pages	64
description	Rand was a Russian born American author who pioneered the philosophy of "objectivism". Anthem is a futuristic science fiction novella. Man i...more [close] Rand was a Russian born American author who pioneered the philosophy of "objectivism". Anthem is a futuristic science fiction novella. Man is in a dark age, because of earlier socialistic values. Technology is carefully planned and rarely allowed to advance. Individualism has almost ceased to exist. The theme of individualism versus collectivism runs throughout the novella. [close]
date added	04-03-08 edit book

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Danny rated it:

(review of isbn 0452281253)

08/16/08

bookshelves: half-read

recommends it for: emotionally mature people interested in a good laugh.

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Alright. If, for some reason, the values of individuality or independence are completely alien to you, you should read this book. Everyone else is better off skipping it. It has nothing else to offer and it's got a good chance of convincing that you're smarter or more enlightened than you actually are.

Now, granted, I was a bit biased against Ayn Rand while reading this. At the same time, before reading this I only had that sort of aversion that you have mostly because it's fun to have someo...more Alright. If, for some reason, the values of individuality or independence are completely alien to you, you should read this book. Everyone else is better off skipping it. It has nothing else to offer and it's got a good chance of convincing that you're smarter or more enlightened than you actually are.

Now, granted, I was a bit biased against Ayn Rand while reading this. At the same time, before reading this I only had that sort of aversion that you have mostly because it's fun to have someone dead to mock. After reading this my contempt for her has become deep and far-reaching.

The setting is simplistic and nonsensical. It's not the portrait of a functioning oppressive society or a sad commentary on human nature so much as a vague, untenable strawman. Other dystopias, such as 1984 and Brave New World, are written with an awareness or sensitivity towards human nature. Anthem's dystopia, on the other hand, completely ignores human nature in favor of a narcissistic, self-congratulatory caricature. 1984 dealt with our willingness to circumvent logic in favor of a comfortable, patriotic lie. Brave New World dealt with our willingness to completely ignore issues and problems as long as we're entertained. Anthem deals with our willingness to sacrifice logic, comfort, entertainment, and freedom for the good of our neighbors.

Oh wait... that doesn't make sense. In fact the oldest, and most definitive, conundrum in the social sciences, The Tragedy of the Commons, states that this doesn't happen. Biology and psychology also point that self-sacrifice without compensation is an exceedingly rare phenomenon, and that humans are as a general rule selfish. Even the Soviet Union, an major influence behind this book, was only maintained by the general acceptance of the communist ideal for a short time before it was replaced with the KGB and the threat of the gulags. Considering how easy it was for Equality to escape from confinement, I'm comfortable saying that critical element was absent. This might be more excusable if it was meant to be a highly stylized hyperbole like The Giver but, according to the introduction written in her own words, Rand actually thinks this is not only the inevitable sum of collectivism, but what all socialists and collectivists secretly WANT.

All this leads me to believe that the person who could seriously believe and write this would have to be someone who saw their self-interest as unique, and imagined the majority of humanity a swathe of ambitionless drones. That, or a reader who's mouth salivates at the word "individuality" and who, when it comes to the affairs of the world, automatically equates cynicism to realism because that's the smart thing to do.

The writing's painfully overwrought as well. You have to understand this book is listed as half-read because despite my several attempts I can't finish it. I either get tired of self-indulgent prose and put it down or I started reading it out loud and I can't take it seriously (I and a friend passed the time waiting for a bus doing this.) The character thinks in short, declarative sentences that seem to rely on the reader to see this struggle as novel and impactful. If you don't do this there's nothing really there to MAKE you think it is. The struggle in question, is just a one-dimensional tug of war between We and I without the complexity or variability seen in actual human thought.

Even the treatment of individuality is trite. It seems like after you figure out the "I" and the "ego" you're pretty much scott free. You don't have any uncertainty about what you want to do or who you want to be, and you don't have to worry about things like self-deception, insecurity or over-confidence to mess with you. Congratulations, you are one of an elite few! Rand's portrayal of selfishness and independence as some miracle cure is sophomoric and overly simplistic, and it gets hammered into you from the beginning. It's not even as if calls to challenge, question, and break social oppression or embrace your individuality are hard to find, and a lot of these calls don't have to resort to strawmen or heady promises of perfection. Read Ender's Game, The Giver, My Side of the Mountain or any other young adult novel. Even song lyrics (Tilly and the Wall, Say Anything, Incubus) treat the topic of self-definition and social constraints with more intelligence. This book might have been revolutionary for its time, but we've moved on as a culture. We've gotten over the novelty of selfishness being a virtue and social control being a bad thing, and we've managed to produce far more intelligent treatments of the subject....less

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