24/1/21 TUITION-NOTES SD SIR
Topic for today: TOTALITARIAN POLITICAL SYSTEM
What do you mean by Totalitarianism or totalitarian Political system? Point
out major features of totalitarian forms of government.
Totalitarianism is a political system where the state holds total authority
over the society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life wherever
necessary. Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini coined the term ‘totalitario’ in the early
1920s to characterize the new Fascist state of Italy, which he further described as
“All within the state, none outside the state, none against the state.” By the beginning
of World War II, Totalitarian had become synonymous with absolute and oppressive
single party government. Other modern examples of Totalitarian states include the
Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler, the People’s
Republic of China under Mao Zedong, and North Korea under the Kim Dynasty.
In the broadest sense, Totalitarianism is characterized by strong central
rule that attempts to control and direct all aspects of individual life through coercion
and repression. Historical examples of such centralized totalitarian rule include the
Mauryan Dynasty of India, the Qin Dynasty of China and the reign of Zulu Chief
Shaka. Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during the Stalin era were the first
examples of decentralized or Popular Totalitarianism, in which the state achieved
over whelming popular support for its leadership. That support was not spontaneous:
its genesis depended on a charismatic leader and it was made possible only by
modern developments in communication and transportation.
Totalitarianism is often distinguished from Dictatorship, Despotism or
Tyranny by its supplanting of all political institutions with new ones and its
sweeping away of all legal, social, and political traditions. The Totalitarian State
pursues some special goals, such as Industrialization or Conquest to the exclusion of
all others. All resources are directed toward its attainment, regardless of the cost.
This obsession spawns an ideology that explains everything in terms of the goal,
rationalizing all obstacles that may arise and all forces that may contend with the
state. The resulting popular support permits the state the widest latitude of action of
any form of government. Any dissent is branded evil, and internal political
differences are not permitted. Because pursuit of the goal is the only ideological
foundation for the totalitarian state, achievement of the goal can never be
acknowledged.
Key features of Totalitarian Political System:
• As against Liberal-Democratic faith in reason, Totalitarianism glorifies instincts
and emotions. It is anti-intellectual and appeals to instinct and will, which
according to it are the motive force of human actions.
• Totalitarianism is a reaction against democracy and socialism. It disdains
parliamentary institutions, and criticizes them as being stupid, corrupt and slow-
moving. Parliaments are regarded as more talking shops that are incapable of
accomplishing anything worthwhile and they are absolutely helpless in times of
emergency.
• It has no faith on diversity and plurality of democracy and wants to concentrate
political power in the hands of the dictator and a single political party. It
substitutes the principal of equality by the principle of Hierarchy and thereby
promotes Elitism.
• The Totalitarian State is enemy of freedom and regards the concept of Individual
Liberty as a fetish of past. The individuals cannot claim any freedom of speech,
thought and writing. There is no freedom of associations and impose strict
censorship over press, publication agencies, radio, television, theatre, arts etc.
• Totalitarianism is highly nationalistic in orientation. Aggressive Nationalism,
Militarism and Expansionism are the essential features of a Totalitarian States. It
encourages organic unity of ‘Nation-State’, i.e., representation of unified national
interest. No wonder it rejects Marxian theory of class struggle.
• Totalitarianism becomes a substitute of religion or rather a new religion. While
Fascism reduced religion to the instrument of state, for Nazism King belong to
God. Hitler, and not Christ, was the new savior, and whatever in Christian
traditions or in the teachings of Christs was not in harmony with Nazi ideology
was rejected or suppressed.
• The Totalitarian ideology relies upon propaganda and terror as doing instruments
to mobilize people. The school, the stage, cinema and radio, arts and literature all
were made to serve Totalitarian ideology. The Nazi proved themselves to be
powerful organizers and master propagandists. The Prison House, Concentration
Camp, and Storm Troopers were always ready to force the unwilling into
submission. Totalitarianism is a doctrine that preaches ‘Might is Right’ and has
no place for moral law.
• As for the Economic theory of Totalitarianism, we find that it places general
welfare above private interests aiming at economic self-sufficiency. Both
undiluted Capitalism and Socialism are rejected because they divide the people
into waring camps. The Capitalist and the worker are controlled in the name of
State and for the sake of People’s welfare.
(If asked about nature combine two-three points into a paragraph and write)
