Recognition of Individuality in AnthemIn Anthem, a collectivist dictatorship keeps its members subjugated using force and constant indoctrination. Anthem's hero, Prometheus, struggles with the ideals of collectivist society because his values ​​do not agree with them. In the end, Prometheus manages to free himself from collectivism by understanding the falsity of its premises. At the crudest level, collectivist dictatorship is able to maintain power and control over its subjects through the use of force. Disobedient members can be sent to the Palace of Correctional Detention and whipped, as in the case of Prometheus, or, for extreme violations, they can be burned alive like the Violator of the Unspeakable Word. The use of such brutal force helps the dictatorship maintain its authority. The dictatorship also manages to keep its subjects in line through brainwashing. As Prometheus writes: "All that comes from the many is good. All that comes from the one is evil. Thus we were taught with our first breath." Furthermore, as children, the governed are forced to recite, "By the grace of our brethren we are permitted life. We exist through, by, and for our brethren," meaning that the only moral justification they have for living is service . By instilling in every subject the moral premise that the "many" are always good and the "one" is always bad, the dictatorship manages to virtually eliminate all oppositional thoughts. By opposing the dictatorship, one opposes the will of all men with one's own singular will, and therefore one is evil. The moral creed that the dictatorship inculcates gives it a moral s...... middle of paper......; The metaphysical basis of collectivism is: "There are no men but only the great WE". The moral basis is: "We exist through, through and for our brothers." The implication is that things that exist have a right to exist and things that do not exist have no right. Since only “we” exists and not individual men, individual men have no right to themselves. Prometheus comes to understand, however, through the word "I" that individuals exist, and therefore have the right to live for themselves, to derive pleasure from essentially self-centered and selfish things. The collectivist dictatorship in Anthem has a strong moral hold on its subjects. The hero Prometheus is able to break that hold through his devotion to his own happiness and ultimately through the recognition of the existence of individuality..