Totalitarianism

TOTALITARIANISMTOTALITARIANISM

Totalitarianism DefinedTotalitarianism Defined

Government controls every aspect of Government controls every aspect of lifelife– No privacy or independent organizationsNo privacy or independent organizations

Political system dominates:Political system dominates:– ReligionReligion– Family lifeFamily life– Economy Economy – EducationEducation

All powerful leaderAll powerful leader

Totalitarian LeadersTotalitarian Leaders

Mussolini Stalin Hitler

Logic of TotalitarianismLogic of Totalitarianism

In order to create a perfect society In order to create a perfect society out of imperfect human beings, out of imperfect human beings, the political system requires a the political system requires a high level of coercive control high level of coercive control over every facet of life.over every facet of life.

Totalitarianism’s FeaturesTotalitarianism’s Featureshttp://http://www.youtube.com/watch?vwww.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu-g1Oe26Sw&feature=related=Xu-g1Oe26Sw&feature=related

There are seven (7):There are seven (7):1.1. Cult of the leaderCult of the leader

2.2. Radical ideologyRadical ideology

3.3. OrganizationOrganization

4.4. Mass mobilization and indoctrinationMass mobilization and indoctrination

5.5. Use of secret policeUse of secret police

6.6. Central controlCentral control

7.7. Use of terror and violenceUse of terror and violence

Cult of the LeaderCult of the Leader

Supreme, autonomousSupreme, autonomous Hero worshipHero worship WiseWise PaternalisticPaternalistic Charismatic Charismatic

Radical IdeologyRadical Ideology

Control is official, total, Control is official, total, comprehensivecomprehensive

Exploits popular fears and prejudicesExploits popular fears and prejudices Legitimates a revolutionary break Legitimates a revolutionary break

from the pastfrom the past– Provides scapegoat for past wrongsProvides scapegoat for past wrongs– Explains present sacrificesExplains present sacrifices– Promises a future of peace and plentyPromises a future of peace and plenty

OrganizationOrganization

Single, political Single, political party serves party serves leader in leader in promoting promoting ideologyideology

Party is Party is subservient to subservient to leaderleader

No dissent No dissent permitted!permitted!

Mass mobilization and Mass mobilization and indoctrinationindoctrination

Fanatic followers make any sacrificeFanatic followers make any sacrifice Regime mobilizes against any Regime mobilizes against any

internal or external enemyinternal or external enemy– Opponents, scapegoats, counter-Opponents, scapegoats, counter-

revolutionariesrevolutionaries Use aggressive warfare to keep Use aggressive warfare to keep

people mobilizedpeople mobilized

Secret PoliceSecret Police

Secret police and informers are used Secret police and informers are used to monitor and control citizenryto monitor and control citizenry

Central ControlCentral Control

Control all Control all organizationsorganizations– SchoolsSchools– the Artsthe Arts– ClubsClubs– News mediaNews media– Labor unionsLabor unions– ChurchesChurches– UniversitiesUniversities– Economy Economy

Terror and ViolenceTerror and Violence

To smooth the way to a take-overTo smooth the way to a take-over Creates atmosphere of crisis and Creates atmosphere of crisis and

instabilityinstability Dramatizes inability of old Dramatizes inability of old

government to provide securitygovernment to provide security To maintain control afterwardTo maintain control afterward Keeps population too terrorized to Keeps population too terrorized to

dissentdissent

Benito Mussolini – ItalyBenito Mussolini – Italyhttp://http://www.youtube.com/watch?vwww.youtube.com/watch?v==hIxAsangFZc&featurehIxAsangFZc&feature==PlayList&pPlayList&p=5D4F6CCBE0FA804A&playnext=1&playnext_from==5D4F6CCBE0FA804A&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&indexPL&index=16=16

Benito Mussolini convinced war veterans that they needed to fight the politicians who were destroying Italy• Fascism – strong, centralized government headed by a powerful dictator; rooted in nationalism• Did not attempt to control farms & factories like Communism; many Italians feared Communism• March on Rome (1922) – Italian kingallowed him to form new government• Il duce (the chief) – crushed all opposition and controlled every aspect of life

Josef Stalin – Soviet UnionJosef Stalin – Soviet Unionhttp://http://www.youtube.com/watch?vwww.youtube.com/watch?v==IkCXtMHCUTc&featureIkCXtMHCUTc&feature==PlayList&pPlayList&p=3C8D236CF8BFAC04&playnext=1&playnext_from==3C8D236CF8BFAC04&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&indexPL&index=12=12

• Joseph Stalin stopped at nothing to create amodel Communist state• Make it a truly socialist economy – stamping out allprivate enterprise especially private farming,ordered collectivization, and destruction of kulaks• Five-year plans (3) – transform into industrialpower, by 1939 it was third largest• Police state – critics were arrested & shipped off toforced labor camp in Siberia• Tens of thousands public officials, bureaucrats,military officers were “enemies of the state” andexecuted• 8-13 million people die; millions more from faminecaused by restructuring of Soviet society• Maintain complete control over citizens; no rights

Adolf Hitler – Nazi GermanyAdolf Hitler – Nazi Germanyhttp://http://www.youtube.com/watch?vwww.youtube.com/watch?v=80lLU5-yji8=80lLU5-yji8

Adolf Hitler appealed to jobless soldiers who joined Nazi (Natl. Socialist German Workers’ Party) who had no ties to Communism and hated it• Nazism – based on nationalism; goal ofuniting all German speaking people;Aryans superior to Jews, Slavs andnon-whites; national expansion (beliefslaid out in Mein Kampf )• Fuhrer (the leader) – desperate peopleturned to him during Great Depression• Dismantled Weimar Republic toestablish Third Reich (1. Charlemagne; 2. Bismarck) which would be the“thousand-year Reich”