Collectivism vs. Individualism Essay Example for Free

Collectivism vs. Individualism Essay Collectivism and Individualism are what all political parties, tags, and ideals boil down to: those who want someone or some idea to follow and desire a set of rules so as to maintain order, and those who feel oppressed with too much control from the government, society, etc. and place freedom at highest regards. In the case of Anthem, we are presented with a reality where Collectivism is the dominating philosophy of the world and we see the main characters evolution to an Individualist way of thinking. For all people to be content, an equal balance of the two is ideal. Although, it is nearly impossible to be dead centre equal and all places on Earth lean to one side or the other, so the historic question is which side is better to lean to? Having an excess of anything is never good, whether it’s too much junk food or too much time playing video games, there are always consequences to being gluttonous. This is relevant to government and society as well, because both Collectivism and Individualism can have disastrous outcomes if taken too far. Discrimination will occur in both cases, because being different from the leaders represents a kind of defiance to them and a potential threat to their power which must be squashed. It is easy to recognize this in Collectivism, since one of its main principles are that all people are equal and should be the same so as to maintain that equality. People are persecuted for being different regardless of whether they can help it or not, and Equality who is 6 feet tall and is taller than most men, resulting in him being shunned by teachers and leaders for having this burden of uniqueness â€Å"There is evil in your bones, Equality 7-2521, for your body has grown beyond that of your brothers.†(33). Similarly, when Individualists start to value their views and opinions above others, they will persecute those who think differently from them because it’s not the ‘right way’ and the others present a threat to that person’s individuality. Equality speaks of how he will go back for some of his brothers, â€Å"I shall steal one day, for one last time, into the cursed City of my birth. I shall call to me†¦International 4-8818, and all those like him, Fraternity 2-5503, who cries without reason, and Solidarity 9-6347 who calls for help in the night, and few others†¦They will follow me and I shall lead them to my fortress.† but is very specific about who he is going to bring. He chooses all the people who are fearful and share the same views as him, and would be easiest to convince of following him without defiance. By definition, Collectivism and Individualism are opposites and though they are similar in ways, they are very different on key pr inciples. In order for society to progress, competition and pride must be present to provide the drive, because people always want to improve their surroundings and to be the ones who are credited for doing so, like when the Americans and Russians were in a race to the moon, the desire to be first probably sped up process. Individualism encourages this because people are allowed to possess a desire to better themselves and to learn new things, â€Å"We made it. We created it†¦We can light our tunnel, and the City, and all the Cities with nothing save metal and wires.†(408-418) which in turn benefits the rest of society. Collectivism believes that all people are equal, but in Anthem the authority is especially obsessive over this, going as far to shun those are smarter than others â€Å"it is not good to be different from our brothers, but it is evil to be superior to them.† (66). This ends up severely stunting progress to a mass mediocrity because it is ridiculous to rely on waiting for a bunch of bureaucrats to all agree on something â€Å"Many men in the Home of Scholars have had strange new ideas in the past†¦but when the majority of their brother Scholars voted against them, they abandoned their ideas as all men must†¦ It took fifty years to secure the approval of all the Councils for the Candle, and to decide upon the number needed, and to re-fit the Plans so as to make candles instead of torches.† (534). This is deliberately done because education and innovation are the cure for ignorance, but ignorance is what makes people easier to control â€Å"the achievements which are open to me, but closed forever to my brothers, for their minds are shackled to the weakest and dullest among them.† (763), so naturally they try to suppress advancements. People are a lot like when you shake an unopened bottle of soda, the more pressure you put them under and the more they are confined, the closer they are to rupturing and rebellion. The endless laws and expectations of the Collectivist City make for an unstable environment and it’s impossible for everyone to constantly keep up with these expectations. Citizens break the mold and always seem happier once they do, with the Saint of the pyre â€Å"They walked to the pyre, and their step did not falter. And of all the faces on that square, of all the faces which shrieked and screamed and spat curses upon them, theirs was the calmest and happiest face.† (329) and when Equality escapes into the Uncharted Forest to protect his light from those who want to destroy it â€Å"We seized our box, we shoved them aside and we ran to the window†¦.We knew only that we must run, run to the end of the world, to the end of our days†¦.We built it for its own sake. It is above all our brothers to us, and its truth is above their truth.† (543-561). In contrast, Individualism gives people the space to relax and enjoy their lives â€Å"We thought suddenly that we could lie thus as long as we wished, and we laughed aloud at the thought. We could also rise, or run, or leap, or fall down again.† (572), and what is there to rebel over that? Therefore, even though Collectivism sounds like a great idea on paper, it’s just not natural for people to live that way. Imagine how the world would be if we all looked the same, had the same interests and the same personalities; there would be nothing to talk about, no new discoveries to be made and no one to balance out our faults. If the world was meant to be gray-scale, why is it in full color? If everyone is supposed to be the same, why do we all have our own unique sets of DNA? Diversity is what makes the world a beautiful and interesting place.