In Yevgeny Zamyatin’s novel, We, the ideas behind individualism and communism are enhanced to see the social attributes which could occur in the future. The novel was written after the Bolshevik revolution in Russia in which a communist government (leading towards a totalitarian society) was then in place. Zamyatin uses We to show when the focus on this type of society is taken to the extreme, humans lose their individualism and conform to the community, rather than showing their own characteristics and strengths. Throughout the novel the citizens of the One State focus on their schedules and the way of life which best suits the community. Each person is to follow the same demands as everyone else, to precise detail (ie, time for the Personal Hour and work). This leads to citizens to becoming so entrenched in their society that they do not believe they have more of a purpose than to support the community.
Zamyatin’s vision behind this idea is somewhat plausible if it were to occur over the course of hundreds, even thousands of years. In present day it is unlikely to happen due to the extreme variety of human beliefs and rights among a spectrum. To include everyone in the world to come together and agree to benefit one another is highly unlikely at this point in time. It would only succeed in a small group of people that were secluded from the outside world; though, as it can be seen through other historical “utopias” (such as New Harmony, the Oneidas, Brook Farm, etc.) this goal can not be reached due to the necessity of the outside world for supplies and communication. In conclusion, one can see that individualism will continue into the future, and there is no need for worry, at least currently, for such an area as the One State.
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