What is ironic in Ayn Rand's Anthem?

One example of irony in Anthem is the
ongoing dramatic irony in which the reader knows that Equality 7-2521 is an individual
person, yet refers to himself as "we." Dramatic irony occurs when the reader/audience
knows something the character(s) does not. This dramatic irony in this case ends when
Equality 7-2521 discovers the word "I" and the concept of the individual, notably in
Chapter 11. 

There is an
extra-textual irony here as it applies to Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, also known
as the "virtue of selfishness." In Anthem, she proposes a dystopia.
The cause of oppression in this world is a radical devotion to collective community,
radical to the point of the obliteration of the concept of an individual. Thus,
individual freedom is lost. This is truly a nightmare scenario and is hyperbolic to
prove Rand's point - that too much emphasis on the collective good decreases emphasis on
individual well being. Her philosophy and rhetoric in this and other works is radical
and suggests that by focusing so much on individual freedom, that actual selfishness is
a saving grace for the human race. 

Certainly, attention to
individual and communal freedoms is the proper balance for an ideally free society. But
with Rand's work here, suggesting that selfishness (a radicalized version of devotion to
individual freedom) is the supreme virtue - this is ironic given many religious and
philosophical morals of ethical behavior, usually based on selflessness, generosity, and
thinking of others.