Human beings are not equal. They make different choices. Though many choose to accept and follow, some choose to think and live independently. The freethinking men and women of Anthem choose to have deeper, more intimate relationships with one another than with passive followers. They reject the egalitarianism of their society — the belief that all human beings should be treated as absolute equals — and live by the principle of individualism, choosing the men and women whom they value. In so doing, they refuse to permit personal values to perish from this earth.
Personal values are critical to understanding why members of this society are unhappy, why some cry for no apparent reason, and why others scream uncontrollably in the night. An individual's happiness depends on an ability to pursue and attain values, those things personally important to that individual. Equality 7-2521, who loves science, is joyous when beneath the ground pursuing the studies so meaningful to him. But this society stifles an individual's freedom to pursue personal values, so it is to be expected that its citizens experience life as meaningless and painful, which is why Fraternity cries, and Solidarity screams in the night. Consciously, they have no knowledge of individuality and personal values, but at an emotional level, they experience the drab dreariness of a life devoid of meaning. They suffocate in an airtight society and gasp for breath.
