Ayn Rand's "Anthem"

My Amazon Kindle is a wonderful device. While browsing the books on the Kindle Store, I ran across a free copy of Ayn Rand's "Anthem". I've always wanted to read Ayn Rand, so I decided to give it a shot. Boy am I glad I read that book! Ayn Rand is a bit of a hero of mine when it comes to her political views. Her rugged individuality is a refreshing break from the relentless socialist messages that permeate society. How does the government work? It doesn't. According Ron Swanson, "I couldn't have said it better myself." That is Ayn's philosophy in a nutshell. As little government as possible and let individuals be individuals. She was a huge proponent of the free market. She touted aggressive self interest as the basic driving force behind all business and politics. This woman knew how people tick!

The philosophy of extreme individuality really shines forth in her novella "Anthem." It's a short read. I read it in a day. However, I'm so glad I did. The novel is a journal of a man named Equality 7-2521. He lives in a dystopian society on earth that forbids individual thought. He must not have any thought that other men do not have. He must not love any brother more than another. In his journal, he refers to himself as "we." Even if he is speaking solely of himself. At a young age, Equality 7-2521 was given the career of a street sweeper. Yet, he had always been the most curious and freethinking of the young children in the orphanage. He experiences a turning point in life when he discovers an ancient tunnel. There, he writes in his journal and works on science experiments. One day, he discovers electricity. He brings his incredible discovery before the science council but they are horrified by it. Before they can arrest him, he escapes into the forest. There was a woman whom he had fallen in love with over the course of the story and she ended up following him into the forest. There, they discover an old cabin filled with books. In that cabin, they discover the word "I" and resolve to form a settlement to repopulate the world with freethinking individuals. Equality 7-2521, who changed his name to Prometheus, resolves to teach his children the powers of I and the beauty of the individual. The story is quick paced and original. The concept is very well executed. The passages about individuality are powerful.

Now, it must all be taken with a grain of salt. Ayn Rand was an atheist. She believed that you alone are the master of your destiny and you alone must pursue your own ends. Men often place their hopes in the collective as a substitute for God, but Ayn Rand is the opposite extreme. The story of philosophy and the arts is movements reacting to each other. The romantics give birth to the realists. The Catholics give birth to the Protestants. The deists give birth to the existentialists. Every movement is a reaction against the other's extremes. However, I'm inclined to buy into this reaction IN THE POLITICAL SPHERE. I buy into this reaction because it is a more accurate reflection of who man is. As a Christian, I can look at Ayn Rand's philosophy of individualism and praise it. I can see that God made man in His image. That means will, emotions, and moral judgements. However, I also know that man is fallen and will invariably choose selfishness. Ayn Rand's philosophy reflects this very real aspect of man. God allowed Ayn the ability to see man's state, but not to understand the source of that state. In the Bible, God explains to me why man is in that state. That's why I can get behind Ayn Rand's philosophy of government and, generally, her views on man. This just goes to show that God, in His grace, gives unbelievers the ability to see things that are true and to produce good art. Just remember that as Christians, we have a foundation and source of all these things that unbelievers have merely stumbled into.

God Bless,

Stanley