José Martí once stated that "The first duty of a man is to think with his own head." When society prefers mindless obedience to independent thought, ego, progress, and knowledge disappear altogether. Undoubtedly, objectivism is vital for humanity to persist and thrive. In her short story, Anthem, Rand supports her philosophy of objectivism through the aspiration for Equality, the value of realism and the triumph of the individual. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Since rational self-interest is a key tenet of objectivism, aspiration provides the individual with a goal to pursue in life. In contrast, unconditional allocentrism and submission resonate with a sense of meaninglessness and an inability to live one's life to the fullest. In Anthem, shameful collectivism subjugates the populace into giving up all desires in favor of working for the prosperity of society; “There is no life for men except in useful work for the good of their brothers. But we didn't live, when we toiled for our brothers, we were just tired. There is no work for men, save that shared with all their brothers” (Rand 86). As a result, the idea of ​​pursuing one's own interests is a completely foreign concept. However, by valorising objectivism and therefore the search for happiness, Equality endows itself with the will to challenge society's decrees and satisfy its desire for knowledge. When Equality questions the unstoppable curse and evil that drives him to “forbidden thoughts,” he fails to realize that it actually represents his intention to put nothing above his curiosity. This passion infuses Equality with the strength of martyrdom; the strength of his will to grant humanity the gift of electricity is enough to overcome the pain of punishment. No amount of whippings and scars can drive this lust away from him, for he is immortal. Furthermore, it is his ambition that drives him and gives him the energy to free society from the clutches of subjectivism; “I…will build our new land and our fort. And it will become as the heart of the earth… I will break all the chains of the earth and raze the slave cities to the ground… and every man will be free to exist for himself” (Rand 104). It is the desire to achieve the objectives that pushes Equality to consider Prometheus as a leading figure; considering the individual first, he decides to bring the light of truth to society. Without ambition, there is no direction, no hope, no life. As is conventional in dystopias, deception is naturally prevalent in the Equality society, which highlights the indispensability of objectivism. Since the primary concern of the World Council is to eradicate everything that highlights the only enemy, independent judgment and choice, a subjective society has been established to suppress the truth. Thus, reality has become a principle built on collective perception, considered infallible, rather than on reason or logic; “We learned that the earth is flat and that the sun revolves around it, which gives rise to day and night… We learned to bleed men to cure them of diseases” (Rand 23). The population accepts this deception to the extent that they believe that the rising of the sun and existence itself depend entirely on the action of the World Council. Furthermore, due to subjective emphasis, forward progress is impossible; since reality and knowledge are internal and influenced by the mind, a complete education and free access to information are considered unnecessary and therefore non-existent. Ergo,no one, not even Academics, has the ability to achieve anything consequential. As a result, all past knowledge has been willfully forgotten, branded as incorrect compared to the accepted contemporary understanding of reality; not only has society not improved, but it has regressed into a technologically backward dark age; one without electricity, a resource almost as fundamental as water. Therefore, objectivity is particularly crucial as it allows one to distinguish between false and true based solely on the facts of reality, which are impossible to alter. Equality challenges the long-held belief that existence is purely in the mind and instead seeks to extract knowledge from the world around it; his vocation, science, eminently demonstrates his orientation to reality. He seeks to understand himself, his society, and human nature, not only by identifying what he perceives, but by continually expanding this understanding; "We have learned things which are not in the scriptures... of which scholars have no knowledge... we desire... to feel as if every day our sight were becoming keener than the falcon's and clearer than rock crystal" ( Rand 36). In carefully recording his observations and assembling the facts into a conceptual whole, Equality uses both concept formation and inductive logic to obtain knowledge. Indeed, objectivism is the education that allows him to eliminate erroneous conventions and re-establish reality, piece by piece. Individualism is the essence of humanity, allowing for independence, exploration and personal development. However, under the misguided governance of collective morality, the Equality society regards the concept of ego as anathema. Driven by the illusion of a greater good, he not only limits thought, speech and will, but punishes non-conformism. As is evident from the inscription on the World Council portals and the absence of the word “I,” the subjects of Anthem are warned not that independence is bad, but that it is impossible; “The word 'We' is like lime poured on men, which sets and hardens until it becomes stone, and crushes everything beneath it... It is the word with which the depraved steal the virtue of the good, with which the weak steal the strength of the good strong, with which fools steal the wisdom of the wise” (Rand 97). In essence, when society valorizes collectivism, it deprives humanity of the ability to experience joy, fulfillment, or any other moral feeling that accompanies being. Fortunately, it is the individual who ultimately prevails. Objectivism guarantees the freedom and rights of the individual and makes him free to act as he wants, claiming to pursue happiness and productive success as his absolute. Consequently, the triumph of the individual frees Equality from the shackles of collectivism. He no longer needs to commit himself for the good of society, but only for his own happiness and fulfillment. He no longer needs to curb his natural desire to express affection or happiness, because they are essential to living a rich, fulfilling and independent life. Furthermore, he, who is proactive and diligent, no longer needs to obey and share his enjoyment with the fragile and defenseless society that it is. Each person is a unique entity with a unique value that is not governed by any force other than itself; “It is my eyes that see… it is my eyes that hear… it is my mind that thinks, and the judgment of my mind is the only beacon that can find the truth. It is my will that chooses, and the choice of my will is the only edict I must abide by” (Rand 94). Consequently everyone is equal in the sense that no man lives for anyone other than himself. But above all, individualism brings with it progress; when the individual is free to experiment if.