Totalitarianism
"There is freedom of speech, but I cannot guarantee freedom after speech."
Totalitarianism is a hyper-authoritarian ideology that believes that opposition parties should be banned, the state should permeate all facets of society, and that society must be run for the state by the state. He is opposed to Democracy and civil liberties and believes dissent should be harshly punished. He is a more extreme form of Authoritarianism.
History
Systems similar to Totalitarianism have been around since antiquity. Examples include Sparta where the state controlled the way of life for the lower and upper classes.
Scholars and historians have considered Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Russian SFSR and later the Soviet Union, to be one of the first to attempt to establish a totalitarian state. However, Totalitarianism was first used by Giovanni Amendola to describe Fascism but eventually, totalitarianism has become one of the fundamental attributes of Fascism thanks to Giovanni Gentile who put totalitarianism into a positive light which the goal of the state is to "total representation of the nation and total guidance of national goals." Totalitarianism has then been promoted by Benito Mussolini with the quote "Everything within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state." Hitler also made comments about totalitarianism in order to build a perfect unity state. Fascists are huge proponents of totalitarianism as fascists wanted complete control of the state and the nation in order to further the nation's goals wanting the ideology to spread into every facet of society and even the human spirit. In fact totalitarianism is one of the core beliefs of fascism.
The origins of modern Totalitarianism as an ideology are debated. Philosopher Karl Popper believed its roots lie in the Hegelian conception of the state, and even more so in the theories of Karl Marx, while philosophers Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer of the Frankfurt School argued it is rooted in the Enlightenment Thought.
After WWII, totalitarianism has since grown out of being just a fascist core belief and has since been used in a negative connotation to describe regimes that have attributes to totalitarianism. Many communist dictatorships such the Stalinist USSR and the Maoist PRC were described as totalitarian regimes with total control of all facets of the society.
According to Carl J. Friedrich, there are 6 traits of Totalitarian Dictatorship, which he found to be shared between all regimes that are regarded as such:
- 1. An elaborate ideology, consisting of an official body of doctrine covering all vital aspects of man's existence to which everyone living in that society is supposed to adhere, at least passively; this ideology is characteristically focused and projected toward a perfect final state of mankind - that is to say, it contains a chiliastic claim, based upon a radical rejection of the existing society with the conquest of the world for the new one.
- 2. A single mass party typically led by one man, the "dictator", and consisting of a relatively small percentage of the total population (up to 10%) of men and women, a hard core of them passionately and unquestioningly dedicated to the ideology and prepared to assist in every way in promoting its general acceptance, such a party being hierarchically, oligarchically organized and typically either superior to, or completely intertwined with, the governmental bureaucracy.
- 3. A system of terror, whether physical or psychic, effected through the party and secret-police control, supporting but also supervising the party for its leaders, and characteristically directed not only against demonstrable "enemies" of the regime, but against more or less arbitrarily selected classes of the population; the terror whether of the secret police or of party-directed social pressure systematically exploits modern science, and more especially scientific psychology.
- 4. A technologically conditioned, near-complete monopoly of control, in the hands of the party and of the government, of all means of effective mass communication, such as the press, radio, and motion pictures.
- 5. A similarly technologically conditioned, near-complete monopoly of the effective use of all weapons of armed combat.
- 6. A central control and direction of the entire economy through the bureaucratic coordination of formerly independent corporate entities, typically including most other associations and group activities.
Soviet Union
Main Article: Marxism-Leninism
W.I.P.
Romania
Main Articles: Clerical Fascism and National Communism
W.I.P.
Mongolia
W.I.P.
Hungary
Main Article: Hungarism
W.I.P.
Argentina
W.I.P.
Guatemala
The state of Guatemala under the rule of General Jorge Ubico has been considered Totalitarian. John Gunther, an American journalist who visited the country in 1941 stated it was "a country 100% dominated by a single man". He added "He has spies and agents everywhere, and knows everyone's private business to an amazing degree. Not a pin drops in Guatemala without him knowing about it." Ubico himself is said to have compared himself (positively) to Adolf Hitler.
Dominican Republic
W.I.P.
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan has been under a totalitarian system of rule since independence in 1991.
Afghanistan
Main Article: Jihadism
W.I.P.
Eritrea
After gaining independence from Ethiopia in 1991, Isaias Afwerki, leader of the then-existing organization known as the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front, later known as the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice, became president. Ever since he took power, there have been no national elections.
In 2001, Eritrea received totalitarian status.
Uganda
W.I.P
From fiction (SPOILER WARNING)
Plato's Republic
1984
Main articles: Ingsoc, Death Worship and Neo-Bolshevism
1984 by George Orwell is a book about a dystopia where there are 3 countries - Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia. In Oceania, there are four ministries - Ministry of Peace which controls the army, Ministry of Truth which controls the media, Ministry of Love which brainwashes dissidents, and the Ministry of Plenty which controls all aspects of the economy. Any suspicious behavior is immediately found by the Thought Police and the person who did it is sent to the Ministry of Love where they are tortured and brainwashed. There is one party: Ingsoc, and one leader: Big Brother. The party created Newspeak, a remake of language made to prevent so-called “wrongthink”, also known as “thought crime” . The Ministry of Peace constantly waged war against the other two countries. Despite the constant warfare, however, Eurasia and East Asia share almost the exact same form of government as Oceania.
Brave New World
Main article: Fordism
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley differs from 1984 in that the state controls the population not by fear, famine and war but by drugs, low-quality entertainment, endless consumption and orgies. Humans is artificially reproduced and conditioned from childhood.
We
We by Yevgeny Zamatin is a dystopian novel about an ultra-totalitarian and collectivist state. There is no place for any form of individualism. There is no family - the state is everyone's family. Everyone gets equal housing, work, food and clothes. There is 24h schedule where people have personal hours for walking and sexual hours for sexual needs.
One State's sentences and elements:
"There is no me, we are" - these words run through the entire novel. There is no place for individualism in One State, no individual
"We give up freedom to be happy" - the basic principle of the State - there is no freedom. They are all the property of the country they live in, they cannot freely decide about their lives, everything is imposed on them - when they get up, when they eat and when they love each other. They can choose only with who they have sex.
Unanimity Day - election day. This is no democratic election - voting is open, there is only one candidate, and no one is allowed to break out of the vote or fail to appear. The elections, then, are just a formality that turns into a celebration in honor of a well-known winner.
Glass houses - are a form of limiting personal freedom. No citizen can live in a building where he is invisible to the Guardians, his life must be constantly monitored. (in the time when this book was written, there were no cameras)
Illegal maternity - women are not allowed to get pregnant unless they are assigned to do so. There are no private children in the State, no wives, husbands or mothers. Nobody has a family of their own, because they are all one big family for each other.
The Hourly Decalogue - one of the holies. No citizen can decide for himself what time to go to bed or go for a walk. Nobody in the country can choose a profession. All citizens can do is choose who they will have sexual relations with.
Imagination is the worst disease - the inhabitants of the One State cannot dream of anything because dreams are a sign of mental illness which is imagination. Man does not need imagination, he does not have to make any decisions himself, and the state does everything for him. He's just an instrument doing the job;
Fahrenheit 451
Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel where all books and critical thought are banned.
V for Vendetta
V for Vendetta is a graphic novel that was later adapted into a movie about totalitarian fascist Britain, where an anarchist called "V" fights with the government and eliminates its members.
Handmaid's tale
Handmaid's Tale is a book that was later adapted into a series about a state called Gilead. In Gilead, births were a rarity, and a Christian totalitarian organization took over the country. Women called Handmaids have no rights and are forced into being state-mandated breeding machines.
Animal Farm
Animal Farm is a novel also written by author George Orwell. It is about farm animals realizing they are being exploited for the Farmer's profit so they decide to throw out the farmer (Mr. Jones) and then the animals govern the farm and live a more free life. However Napoleon the Pig takes power in a coup overthrowing any opposition and creating a totalitarian oligarchy where everyone follows his order, propaganda is distributed, and most of the animal production goes towards the oligarchic pigs. Animals who oppose or don't work hard enough are killed by a squad of dogs or left to suffer or taken away forever. Many people have compared Animal Farm to the rise of the Soviet Union, saying that Napoleon the Pig was representing Joseph Stalin. Orwell himself was against totalitarianism, and Animal Farm and 1984 (scroll above) are used widely as literature about totalitarian states.
Star Wars (Galactic Empire)
Star Wars (during the Galactic Civil War era) is one of the most brutal parts of both the Legends and Canon universe of Star Wars. During this time, many sentient beings of the Galaxy were repressed in many ways by the Empire. You could say that they are "Space Nazis" if you look at their atrocities. Look at planets like Corellia, they were prosperous pre-Empire, but when the Empire began occupying Corellia many people on the planet suffered greatly due to the low wages set by the Empire. Not surprisingly, the Imperials began to persecute people who were part of the non-sith force organizations (except the state-sanctioned Jedi-hunting Inquisitors), beginning with Order 66 wiping most of the Jedi. Another planet like Jeddah, a holy place for force believers was occupied by the Imperials who persecuted pilgrims and people who lived there. After an attack by one of the partisans, they then decided to blow Jeddah partly rendering the planet uninhabitable.
Anthem
Anthem is a dystopian novel written by Ayn Rand where the concept of individuality is erased, most technology is restricted, outdated beliefs, such as flat earth are widespread, and people was identified by numbers. The main character invented individuality again and rediscovered electricity.
Autodale
W.I.P
Snowpiercer 2013 Movie
When a substance promised to save the Earth from global warming ends up creating a deadly ice age, most of humanity freezes to death, and the remainder create a joint railway around the entire world. A Train continuously moves around the entire world during this ice age containing the last people of Humanity. This Snowpiercer Train is created by a man named Wilford. He divides the people into classes the lowest being freeloaders and prisoners. Wilford only needs the freeloaders for child labor and treats them horribly with inhumane living conditions. Wilford is totalitarian because he has the authority over the train and the remaining humans he uses guards, propaganda, and certain techniques to make sure that everyone stays where they are, the system keeps working and the lowest classes do not revolt or end up failing revolution. In the movie, we can see how he enforces these rules, especially on the freeloaders by doing whatever he can to eliminate all the revolting freeloaders
Their Great Reset video series (Leonardo of Biz)
Youtube creator Leonardo of Biz created a video series where the World Economic Forum predictions have come true. Now the world lives in an allegedly "progressive" totalitarian techno-dystopia controlled by an oligarchy and mass conglomerates of corporations that have a complete monopoly on both truth and the fate of the lives of everyone who lives under their thumb. In this video series the main character represents an ordinary man living through his life in this ever-changing world, trying what he can do to survive in it without getting in trouble with the state. The corporations and government have given him a VR headset produced and controlled entirely by Big Tech, which constantly gives him large amounts of state-approved media to consume so as to feed him propaganda and keep him passive, as well as a phone that keeps track of his entire life and what he does for the state, and what displeases the state... In this world, seemingly proclaimed "progressive" values have taken place in this dystopia claiming to fight sexism, racism, have equal rights and has solve climate change. However in the two films so far it is heavily implied this is mere justification by corporate-state propaganda, rather than having any real valid intentions to make the world a better place, and is even shown that despite claims of their duty to "protect the environment" the little of the outside world we do see is still heavily polluted, all the while, mass-industrialization is everywhere, with little to no greenery, and the state forces everyone else to live with heavily regulated utilities. Such as with supposedly "eco-safe" timer showers, which only puts burden on average people rather than the corporations that actively abuse such a resources in the first place. Despite its claims for promoting civil liberties and tolerance of all forms of identity and self-expression, it is deeply totalitarian as saying anything against the government or corporations can get you in big trouble. Totalitarian "wokeness" is enforced everywhere to justify cracking down on opposition by labeling such behavior as "bad-speak", even something as trivial as saying your designated work-pod "is a bit cramped", leading to the state-controlled websites apparently worked on by "the experts" to tell the "real facts" and to to "disprove" such apparent falsehoods from anyone who is even slightly critical of the established order. Everyone who isn't super wealthy lives in apartment pods where they don't really own anything individually as its payed through subscriptions of good boy tokens. People are mandated to wear face masks which closely resemble ball-gags despite it providing no real protection from any potential transmission of disease. Insects and Bugs have become the main food source for most people other than those with a high reputation with the state corporations who get to eat soylent brand synthetic nu-meat made from bug-protein (except for the elites, which it is heavily implied they only pretend to like it for propaganda purposes) with the lack of meat creating an underground black market for meat consumption. The two videos in the series so far "You will be Happy" and "You will eat the Bugs" are takes on what would happen if the World Economic Forum had their vision supposedly become a reality. In reality this likely is based off of many of the right-leaning to far-right individuals and conspiracy theorists distrust of the world-economic forum. With certain people claiming it is either a form of totalitarian oligarchy, a Zionist plot, or apart of the "green agenda" and actively harmful to the world. Though it should be noted that the world economic forum has also widely been hated by many far-leftists as well, the video seems to be of a more right-wing populist interpretation of what the Great Reset would look like. This video series seems to be a warning by the creator of their view of if the elites get their way...
Ace Attorney
The Kingdom of Khura'in is an Asian nation located in the Eastern Himalayas in Ace Attorney, ruled by a queen which by law must be a spirit medium. This requirement is taken very seriously and can impact the perceived legitimacy of both a ruler and the laws that they pass, despite otherwise being essentially an absolute monarch who can pass laws at will. Under Ga'ran Sigatar Khura'in, a law known as the Defense Culpability Act was made which gave defense attorneys the same punishment as their clients if found guilty. As a result, defense attorney were purged from the country. In theory the law was meant to protect the stability of the country, but in practice, it was a cover for Ga'ran to hide the fact she is not a spirit medium and thus a illegitimate ruler. After Apollo Justice exposed her in court, Ga'ran was ousted and replace by her niece Rayfa Padma Khura'in, with Nahyuta Sahdmadhi as acting regent.
Variant
Post-Totalitarianism
Post-totalitarianism is the product of the decline of totalitarianism. Although this ideology and political system still officially pursues a set of utopian ideological theories and maintains an absolute monopoly on writings that are the legacy of totalitarianism in politics, its influence on Economic and social control has been loosened. Official ideologies, even if they cannot be formally questioned, have gradually become mere formalities and dogmas. Mobilization has gradually lost its social depth and has become a ritualized and bureaucratic promotion tool. At the same time, leaders often It comes from within the political party and is constrained by predictable and unspoken rules from within the ruling elite.
There are two ways for totalitarianism to transform into post-totalitarianism: out of the collective pursuit of security, the ruling elite seizes special opportunities to limit the power of the top leader, and at the same time acquiesces to some unofficial organizations in the society which is already homogenized under totalitarianism; or the official ideology is increasingly out of touch with reality, resulting in the hollowing out of ideology and the passivity of cadres, which in turn leads to the ritualization of mobilization and the weakening of social control.
Personality and Behavior
Totalitarianism is a dictator and loves the works of Hegel. He often goes on about his love for Hegel and is one of the few ideologies that can read Hegel and understand what he's saying.
Totalitarianism also loves surveillance people and Cleaning Political house, raids and support state power very much. His hand is covered with the rooting out of dissidents.
Totalitarianism hates when people call him a devil, especially when you are in LibUnity.
Totalitarianism takes parts of liberty and the media in return for unity, that will let Totalitarianism's power overtake.
How to Draw
- Draw a ball
- Draw a yellow circle with a red circle inside of it
- Draw 5 arrows around the yellow circle
- Draw eyes and then you're done!
Color Name | HEX | RGB | |
---|---|---|---|
Black | #202020 | 32, 32, 32 | |
Yellow | #FFC912 | 255, 201, 18 | |
Red | #FF0000 | 255, 0, 0 |
Relations
Order Enjoyers
- Hegel - The best philosopher in history.
- Centralism - How else would I exert control all around?
- Fascism - Remember, all within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.
- Nazism - Me but racist and yes the greatest strength of a totalitarian state is that it forces those who fear it to imitate it.
- National Capitalism - Same as above but capitalistic.
- Marxism-Leninism - You have a huge state.
- Maoism - And you have a populous state.
- Juche - Really based.
- National Bolshevism - Mix of Fascism and Marxism-Leninism? My best dream.
- Autocracy - People must praise me! I don't want any criticism!
- Clerical Fascism - This is the only way to save their souls.
- Esoteric Fascism - I like how you want to restore warrior culture. But you should take your meds.
- Pol Potism - Based Cambodian, but you are too crazy.
- Showa Statism - Your citizens believe you are literally the God, based.
- Turkish Idealism - Based Turks.
- State Liberalism - Weird but effective. I usually hate liberals.
- National Primitivism - If leadership will keep all technology then based, otherwise it can't be called totalitarianism if there are no modern instruments of surveillance, propaganda, and control.
- Nazi Transhumanism - I'm jealous. With technology inside of the people, I would be able to have an accurate location of everyone and would be able to instantly kill any human I want from any distance, it might be even possible to put a chip on a brain to control or read thoughts.
- Infrared - "Get that NGO, that human rights whatever thing, send them my number and I will arrange a time and a meeting where they can like line up in a conga line to suck my cock. Every single one of those human rights activists. So, yeah, I'm against human rights, I'm 100% against human rights "
-
Project 2025 - Autocracy, labeling minorities as “p*rn” and arresting and threatening violence against people who don’t comply? Based!
Suspicious
- Authoritarianism - My father taught me the importance of very strong governance, but he's too moderate.
- Ingsoc - Son, that's a bit too far.
Dad said the same thing to me. - Kraterocracy - You are me but much more oppressive. Slavery of all people except leaders, conquering all nations, and genocide of anyone who gets in the way of the state is too much even for me.
- Fordism - And you, instead pacifying the masses with sex, drugs, entertainment and distractions so that they become mindless pleasure-addicts and voluntarily stop opposing you? I never imagined this because I thought to rule you always had to be overtly harsh, but I guess you gave me a new perspective on governance and human nature.
- Neo-Bolshevism - Just Ingsoc combined with Marxism-Leninism, not much to talk about here.
- Fourth Theory -
Just admit it, you like me.FAR Too moderate but otherwise I like your repression of human rights. - Death Worship - Just Ingsoc combined with Showa Statism. Idk that suicide for the state isn't too much.
- We - Human called by numbers? Transparent houses? Too much... But otherwise based.
- Hive-Mind Collectivism - Shared thoughts, everything collectivized? It's REALLY too much, you are crazy, but the social collectivism is based.
- Hobbesianism - I really like your work it is only that you're a bit tame.
- Anarcho-Fascism - Anarchism? Cringe. Fascism? Based.
- Illuminatism - Why you rule in hiding? Show the whole world your power!
- Mega Corporatocracy - Private Kraterocracy? That's enough.
- Cultism - Your control over the people goes beyond even my abilities, I definitely can't convince all of my citizens to commit suicide over some pseudo-spiritual or UFO bullshit, but you are also operating on my grounds sometimes, I can't let you have power over any of my people.
- Anarcho-Totalitarianism - What is this? You want to run a state without enforcing it?
- National Communism - Really good work in Romania and North Korea, but in other places you were rather soft.
- CSA - Why enslave only 1/3rd of the population when you can enslave >90%? Also, please drop democracy (even if only one group can vote).
- Dengism - It depends on variants, but I like Xi and Jiang Zemin.
- Xi Jinping Thought - I like this variant of Dengism, but you're kinda soft.
- Jacobinism - Robespierre's dictatorship was based, but your ideals are pathetic.
- Kakistocracy - States ruled by stupid people are usually unstable, but Pol Pot and Macias Nguema are based.
- Totalitarian Democracy - What an oxymoron are you....?
- Most statist ideologies - At least you people have a state. Expand it though.
Liberal Filth
- Democracy - Thanks for electing me in power, idiot. Now watch me demolish every power structure of yours and feel helpless as I proclaim myself dictator for life.
- Ochlocracy - How do you like my nerve agents, you morons?
- Liquid Democracy - No, choice bad.
- Constitutionalism - Term limits? HAHAHAHAHA!!!!
- Libertarian Socialism & Libertarianism - A life not for the state is a life without worth.
- Anti-Authoritarianism - "There is a path to freedom. Its milestones are: Obedience, diligence, honesty, orderliness, cleanliness, sobriety, truthfulness, readiness to make sacrifices, and love of the fatherland." - My pagan grandchild
- Anarchism - Fuck off, you bitch!
- Philosophical Anarchism - Even if you don't necessarily want to destroy the state, you refuse to follow it. Sad.
- Anarcho-Egoism - You seriously think you can just go around serving your own interest instead of the state? F*cking cringe... AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU READ HEGEL AND FOLLOW HIS TEACHINGS?! GGGAAAAAHHHH!!!
- Situationism - Another Hegel understander... I give up.
- Civil Libertarianism - Thinks civil liberties are important. How foolish.
- Insurrectionary Anarchism - Another filthy anarkiddy, time for you to get executed by firing squad!
- Anarcho-Nihilism - Chaos as goal itself? This is dystopian, not me!
- Enlightened Absolutism - You want to use power for WHAT?
- Dictablanda - Even worse than the guy above.
- Avaritionism - Your ideology also promotes pure chaos. At least we both hate this moron.
- Soulism - Ascending entire humanity to godhood level, when every individual can live in their personal paradises for eternity without any laws? That's pure LUNACY! And please, read less utopian books and more
dystopianrealistic ones.
Further Information
Literature
- The Psychology of Totalitarianism by Mattias Desmet
- The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt
- Marxism, Fascism, and Totalitarianism: Chapters in the Intellectual History of Radicalism by A. James Gregor
- Totalitarianism: The Inner History of the Cold War by Abbott Gleason
- The Rape of the Mind: The Psychology of Thought Control, Menticide, and Brainwashing by Joost A.M. Meerloo
Articles
Wikipedia
Gallery
-
Previous image
-
By bonepennies
- ↑ Although Hegel was not a totalitarian advocate in the modern sense, his philosophy of the State and his conception of state authority have been criticized for their authoritarian potential.
- ↑ AMIN PRAISES HITLER FOR KILLING OF JEWS
- ↑ Ironically, despite Trujillo’s strong hatred of Haitians, his mother, Altagracia Julia Molina Chevalier, was part Haitian and even distantly related to the founding father of Haiti Toussaint Louverture. This would cause great insecurity and embarrassment later on in his life and he would put on make up on his face to make his skin seem more lighter than it was.
- ↑ Trujillo personally owned up to 60% of the Dominican Republic’s territory
- ↑ only during the early days
- ↑ Declared dead 20 July 1968
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/02/vietnam-criticised-for-totalitarian-law-banning-online-criticism-of-government
- ↑ Since 2020, during the Covid19 Pandemic
- ↑ During the 1980s, After the Hama Uprising
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150604153251/http://bennorton.com/uk-helped-anti-imperialist-libyan-dictator-gaddafi-crush-dissidents/
- ↑ 1