A Man’s Ego Is the Fountainhead of Human Progress - Ayn Rand

¨A man’s ego is the fountainhead of human progress.” Ayn Rand’s words describe having an ego perfectly: to progress and grow, not to be living in pride and self-consumption. The word ego is familiar to most people in today’s society: having self-worth and having the ability to be an individual. Prometheus, originally known as Equality, lived in the Anthem society. He needed an ego in order to be his own person, learn more about the unknown, and advocate for himself and his society, but he did not let his ego get the best of him. Being an egoist is good to an extent until that ego starts to take too much control. Society must keep in mind that, while individuals are important and valued, their worth does not surpass anyone else's.

Being an egoistic person leads to being an innovative, creative person. As stated in Anthem, “I have learned that the power of the sky was known to men long ago; they called it Electricity. It was the power that moved their greatest inventions. It lit this house with light that came from those globes of glass on the walls. I have found the engine which produced this light. I shall learn how to repair it and how to make it work again. I shall learn how to use the wires which carry this power (Rand 100).” Prometheus would have never discovered how to build an electrical fence, or even the idea to make one without the ego, passion, creativity, and intelligence he had. He was able to expand his mind capacity and unravel more secrets of the Unmentionable Times. If he had lacked his ego and excitement to learn about the unknown, he would have stayed in the same spot and never would have grown.

Being egoistic can also make an individual very valuable. Sometimes being an egoist makes you as an individual more passionate about your ideas, and more determined to make those ideas reality. This in return can be beneficial to society in many ways. “One night, we were cutting open the body of a dead frog when we saw its leg jerking. It was dead, yet it moved. Some power unknown to men was making it move. We could not understand it. Then, after many test, we found the answer (Rand 52-53).” Equality and International were so interested in the new power they discovered that they conducted multiple tests to find out what strange thing was making the frog move. The two never gave up on their discovery; they experienced multiple trial and errors, yet they still pushed through and found the source of the strange power. Their individuality and ego fed their curiosity. People like Prometheus and International are the