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What is totalitarianism?

Totalitarianism is a form of government together with its accompanying ideology. It is characteristic of the XX century. Totalitarianism occurred in countries in which social conflicts related to the current situation and aversion to democracy and/or capitalism lead to the success of an ideology promising the end of all injustice.

A totalitarian regime combines characteristics of autocracy and dictatorship.  It is actually their extreme form or even, as one may say, its degeneration.

A totalitarian state exerts control over its citizens that is much greater than in any other earlier forms of government.  The goal is to subordinate the whole society to the state (party) using information monopoly, propaganda, controlling all aspects of individual life, official and all-encompassing state ideology, repression system of the secret police and the rule of a single party.

Benito Mussolini coined the term “totalitarianism” in 1925 to describe the new Fascist state of Italy.  The word gained its contemporary meaning later when similarities between fascism and communism were noted.  It became a general term related to both communist and fascist systems.  The theory of totalitarianism was created by Hannah Arendt and Zbigniew Brzezinski.

See: characteristics of totalitarianism

 
 

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