Totalitarianism

Question 1

why coined the term “Totalitarianism”

Answer 1

Coined by Benito Mussolini (1925)

Question 2

what can Totalitarianism be understood as?

Answer 2

“A political system where the state holds total power over the society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life.”

Question 3

textbook focuses on totalitarianism as:

Answer 3

as a “syndrome” or “pattern of interrelated traits” that a regime may possess.

Question 4

when does totalitarianism exist?

Answer 4

It is when all 8 elements are combined in a single regime that totalitarianism exists.

Question 5

what are the 8 traits of totalitarian syndrome:

Answer 5

1. Attempt to remake society
2. One-party rule
3. All powerful leader
4. Pseudo-democratic rule
5. Control of communications
6. Use of terror
7. Subordination of law to the State
8. Planned economy

Question 6

Define the syndrome “Attempt to remake society”:

Answer 6

• Central to totalitarianism is the drive to remake society -> to achieve a state of ‘imagined perfection’.
• Usually is packaged into an official ideology which is based on a single element.
• Examples of single element:
  a) USSR – the idea of class
  b) Nazis – master race
  c) Mussolini – the state
• This central element is the premise upon which all else is built.
• All those who oppose or do not fit within the parameters of the idealistic image must be coerced or ‘removed’.

Question 7

Define the syndrome “One-party state”:

Answer 7

• This is a single, disciplined mass party that is controlled from above.
• The Party permeates all levels of society (private and public): govt, security services, schools, unions, workplaces, etc.
• Other parties are either illegal or manipulated to suit the needs of the mass party -> in other words, no real opposition is allowed.
• Society is directed by the Party and thus “united” in striving to achieve the grand societal project (‘imagined perfection’).

Question 8

Define the syndrome “All powerful leader”:

Answer 8

• Totalitarian regimes start with an all powerful leader (Lenin, Mao, Hitler, Mussolini).
• Once they pass on, usually a less iconic figure takes over and seeks to maintain the party’s grip on power.
• However, these successors are often less charismatic and thus less able to impose their will on the party. Furthermore, the change in leadership may result in demands from society for reform.
• In short, the transition period from one leader to another is a potentially dangerous time for the regime.

Question 9

Define the syndrome “Pseudo-democratic rule”:

Answer 9

• Since society is being remade, a facade of public participation is encouraged -> real change is not possible if it does not come from the Party.
  Examples:
  a) Mandatory political education courses in
  school
  b) Required attendance at party organized
  political meetings or discussions.
  c) Mandatory voting (voting as a duty) in
  elections, although the outcome has been
  decided by the Party prior to the vote.
• Any kind of participation which seeks real change is crushed.

Question 10

Define the syndrome “Control of communications”:

Answer 10

• The goal of social transformation (of implementing the ‘imagined perfection) requires a fixed focus -> Nothing is allowed to counter the official ideology.
• Consequently, there is usually a monopoly on the flow of ideas.
• Media are either owned by the state or controlled by it, and serves as a mouthpiece for govt propaganda.
• Outside media are filtered or selectively blocked to prevent the diffusion of ‘dangerous’ ideas.

Question 11

Define the syndrome “Use of terror”:

Answer 11

• Terror is used against the population.
• Special police (such as the KGB or Gestapo) are established; they are free from any institutional oversight and report directly to the leader.
• These special police will infiltrate state institutions and other state agencies, even the security forces, to ensure their compliance with official ideology.
• Where authoritarian regimes will single out overt political opponents (those based on actions or words), totalitarian regimes will use force against anyone that exhibits less than complete commitment to the regime (actions, words, thoughts).

Question 12

Define the syndrome “Subordination of low to the senate”:

Answer 12

• The state is above the law; there is no rule of law.
• The law is a weapon the state uses to achieve its ends – to punish its internal enemies and maintain its hold on power (in other words, rule of man).
• As totalitarian regimes attempt to provide their regimes with an aura of democratic legitimacy (pseudo-democratic rule), they may also possess constitutions which outline civil liberties; however, these are not respected. The state, as embodied by those in power, is above the constitution.
• Consequently, the courts will not act against laws that citizens claim infringe on their “constitutionally” protected “rights” because the courts are controlled by the government, and the constitution and the rights it enshrines, are consequently, worthless.

Question 13

Define the syndrome “Planned economy”:

Answer 13

• This is a central feature in a totalitarian state.
• Sometimes the state owns the economy, other times it plays a large role within the economy (setting prices and imposing production quotas).
• An open economy (capitalism) is a threat because it allows individual citizens the freedom to choose what they want, when they want it, and gives them the means to satisfy their own needs.
• This is a threat to the regime’s goal of ‘imagined perfection’ because the varied needs of individuals may conflict with the ‘imagined perfection’ as presented in the official ideology.
• Thus, the state wants to subordinate individual needs to the collective good, which is, of course, defined by the state through the official ideology.