Egoism is when oneself, rather than others, is the proper beneficiary of one's action. In Anthem, by Ayn Rand, the lead character Prometheus is egoistic. He lives for his own happiness; he does not sacrifice himself to others, nor does he sacrifice others to himself. The egoism he manifests is exactly what the leaders try to eradicate: freedom "freedom to have one's own thoughts, freedom to choose whom to love, and freedom to exist as an individual. With courage and perseverance, Prometheus manages to escape the grasp of a collectivist society, which is ultimately beneficial to him. .
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The environment created by Anthem's society permeates each single member with the fear of committing a naturally unavoidable "crime", of conceiving original thoughts and ideas, "There is fear hanging in the air. . . . Fear walks through the City, fear without name, without shape. All men feel it and none dare to speak . . . our brothers are silent, for they dare not speak the thoughts of their minds. For all must agree with all." It attempts to steal the very concept of personal distinctiveness from mankind so that all humans can be truly equal, resulting in no superiority or discrepancy among the people. The society's collectivist ideals are ever present and constantly reinforced into the minds of the people, as seen from the required plays about the goodness of work performed by groups rather than solo actors, to the pledge demanded of all children that forces them to affirm, "We are nothing. Mankind is all." These constant reminders of the society-declared "truth" proclaim an individual's insignificance, crushing the spirit inside each person, the ego. The only "one" recognized by Anthem's extreme of a cooperative culture is the "GREAT "WE "ONE, INDIVISIBLE, AND FOREVER." Unlike most of in his society, Prometheus has been different from his brothers since birth. Everything about Prometheus is exceptional in his society, from his appearance to his academic ability as a child.
