The Birth of a Freedomless Government

In the novel "We", Yevgeny Zamyatin argues that a corrupt and unjust society is born out of a freedomless government. The authors purpose for this argument and the writing of this novel, most likely strains from the 60 year period of oppression that the Russian people suffered. From this oppression forced on the people by the government of communist Russia, the author's nation of OneState is born. OneState, ruled over by the The Benefactor, is a rational, scheduled society which lacks almost all aspects of human individuality. This argument is prevalent in several key examples found throughout the book. The characters names in the novel, a letter, followed by a number, removes the human nature from the citizens identity, and makes them almost robotic. Examples of these names include D-503 and I-330.   A society who holds logical and rational thinking so dear, has even created the perfect leader. A robotic humanoid, who is all powerful and able to judge the citizens and destroy them in a flash of light. This leader, even God figure, called The Benefactor, is a tangible, view-able being of supreme power. The citizens practices could be called worship as they capitalize his name; similar to God. While the people who live in OneState appear to be perfectly content with their lives, the author is not promoting the style of government. By viewing the novel through the eyes of D-503, the sheer ignorance of the people is understood, along with the horror of the society they live in.