Taken socially, objectivism teaches the power of the individual and his reasoning capacity. Rand was not a fan of collective power and control over society; sacrificing for the sake of one's brother is not simply inefficient and impractical to Rand, but diametrically opposed to man's human essence. Once society loses the word "I," Rand believed, it would self-implode. The purpose of Anthem is to glorify human potential and individual self-worth. The rulers tend to keep their constructive power over the people by planting in their demented heads that there is no "I," merely just we, to brainwash them and make them "know" that what they have grown up learning is right. If you have grown up your whole life learning and studying the catholic religion, then you will most likely believe that it is the best way to be, unless you get a bright, yet flashy awakening to the real world just like Equality 7-2521 did. Each night for three hours, instead of attending the City Theatre, which promotes the propaganda of collectivism, Equality 7-2521 retreats to his special underground hovel, where he illegally studies the science of things alone. Though he knows his society forbids his activities, Equality 7-2521 also realizes that for the first time in his life, he feels satisfaction and peace. This is what made him realize that what they were doing was merely brainwashing the people. From the onset he describes himself as having a curse-a curse of being different from his brothers, being an individual. Yet through the course of events, he ultimately comes to the conclusion that this curse is a blessing, since it leads him out of captivity to the collective and into freedom.
             More than being a metaphor for the Russian state Rand left, Anthem's collective society represents the forces of socialism and altruism everywhere. Rand believed that the ideology of collectivism would destroy Russia and any other n...