If I remember right people are kept "equal" in all aspects by handicapping those smarter, stronger, faster, etc than average. If you're smart you have a speaker strapped to your head to interupt your thoughts so you're on the same playing field as dumber people, shit like that. And the title character is a super special genius strong boy who has to wear the biggest weights etc to keep him down. then I think he breaks free, gives a Randian speech on tv, and is shot.

Haven't read it for years so that's prob not accurate but I don't care enough to look it up