Advanced Research Topics
 

1.		In Anthem, Equality observes that, "At forty, [men] are worn out . . . [and] are sent to the Home of the Useless, where the Old Ones live . . . The Old Ones know that they are soon to die. When a miracle happens and some live to be forty-five, they are the Ancient Ones, and children stare at them when passing by . . ." (p. 25).   According to the World Health Organization's ranking of 191 countries, (www.who.int) there is a huge discrepancy in the average life expectancy of various nations; it ranges from a high of 74.5 years in Japan to a low of 25.9 years in Sierra Leone. Why does life expectancy vary so greatly around the world? What are the main factors that determine life expectancy in a given country?   Select several countries with high, medium, and low average life expectancy, and briefly research their political systems. Consider the following questions:         How are their leaders chosen?         Do citizens enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of mobility, and of religion? Do they have the right to life, liberty, and ownership of private property?         To what extent does the government control and regulate the economy?         Is the primacy of rule of law acknowledged? Write a paper on your findings concerning the causal impact that a country's political system has on the life expectancy of its citizens.
2.		In Anthem, Prometheus discovers the meaning of the word "freedom." He states that, "To be free, a man must be free of his brothers. That is freedom. That and nothing else" (118). In fact, Ayn Rand defined freedom, in a political context, as "the absence of physical coercion" (Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal).   This definition of freedom, however, stands in direct contrast to the one held by many modern thinkers, writers, and politicians. Today, modern liberals often assert "Freedom must [entail] . . . an increased power on the part of the individual to share in the goods which society has produced and an enlarged ability to contribute to the common good" (George Sabine, A History of Political Theory).   Write an essay contrasting Ayn Rand's definition of freedom to that of modern liberals, and consider the form of government each would necessitate.
3.		Is Anthem a realistic portrayal of life in a totalitarian society? Compare the fictionalized society in Anthem to a real dictatorship, past or present. Some options are Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, Cuba, China, Cambodia, etc.
4.		While recounting man's struggle for freedom throughout history, Equality laments that, "At first, man was enslaved by gods . . . then by kings . . . then by his birth, his kin, his race. But he broke their chains. He declared to all his brothers that a man has rights which [no men] can take away from him. And he stood on the threshold of freedom . . . But then he gave up all that he had won, and fell lower than his savage beginning" (119).   Find a specific example from history for each of these five stages in mankind's political history, including an example from the twentieth century for the final stage. What, according to this novel, must man understand to enable him to pass through the threshold of freedom that, in the past, he so nearly reached?
5.		How does our society treat independent thinkers, daring innovators, and successful entrepreneurs (like Equality)? Are they applauded or criticized? Write an essay on this topic, offering specific case studies to support your argument.