Philosophical

Ideas
Connected with
Utopias & Dystopias
Individualism
 Individualism:
a philosophy that focuses
on the interests and
independence of an
individual
Collectivism
 Collectivism:
a philosophy that focuses on
the importance of a group
(collective) over separate
individuals
Collectivism inspired some
political philosophies:
- Socialism
- Communism
 Socialism:
Political theory in which
government owns and
controls property & distributes
goods with the goals of social
and economic equality
 Communism:
Political theory where private
ownership is eliminated and
property and resources are
owned in common
 How is Collectivism
(in its forms) related
to Utopias &
Dystopias?
The roots of communism go
back to the philosophical
work of Karl Marx who
believed communism
should replace other forms
of government.
“From each according to
his ability — to each
according to his needs.”
- Marx
In some ways, collectivism
seeks to achieve a utopia
- what Marx called
“workers’ paradise.”
The “workers’ paradise”
was Karl Marx’s last stage
in his vision for his
collectivist society.
However, in order to get to
the “paradise,” a
government must control
resources and citizens.
 Totalitarianism:
political philosophy where
citizens are subject to
absolute governmental
authority of nearly every
aspect of public & private
behavior
So what does this
have to do with
English class?
Ayn Rand
Born in Russia in 1905 as
Alisa Zinov'yevna
Rosenbaum
The Russian Revolution began
in 1917.
It was a political & social
revolution abolished the
Russian monarchy.
The Revolution ended in 1923
and established the Bolshevik
Party – later renamed the
Communist Party.
 The Russian Revolution
established the
Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics
(USSR or Soviet Union), a
communist government.
After the Revolution, Rand’s
father's pharmacy business
was confiscated & her family
nearly starved.

Communist
troops in Red
Square in 1917
Pause to answer #6 based
on what you have learned
so far.
 In 1925, she obtained
permission to leave USSR
for a visit to relatives in the
United States.
She moved to the United
States in 1926, less than a
decade after the Russian
Revolution.
Although she told Soviet
authorities that her visit
would be short, she
never returned to Russia.
Pause to answer #7 based
on what you have learned
so far.
 She opposed the
communist government
that had taken over her
country and which was
beginning to spread
around the world.
Actually, Rand opposed
all forms of
Collectivism.
She voiced her opposition
through her writing
including:
Anthem, Atlas Shrugged, &
The Fountainhead
 Ayn Rand
&
Individualism
After moving to the US, Rand
came to see the individual as
the answer to the purpose of
life.
 This love of individualism is
continually expressed through
her writing:
- the lost “I” (Anthem)
- Howard Roark (The Fountainhead)
- John Galt (Atlas Shrugged)
Ayn Rand
&
Objectivism
Eventually, Rand created
her own philosophical
belief in the self or ego.
 Objectivism
A philosophical belief that
focuses on achieving
personal happiness
through one’s own efforts.
 "My philosophy, in essence, is the
concept of man as a heroic being,
with his own happiness as the moral
purpose of his life, with productive
achievement as his noblest activity,
and reason as his only absolute.”
- Rand
 Objectivism has been
criticized as a philosophy that
is selfish or self-centered.
 Some objective ideas are:
- people deserve respect
- individuals have rights
- one should live with moral
integrity
We must create our
own happiness.