Totalitarianism

Part Three of the Origins of Totalitarianism

Hardcover, 222 pages

Published March 1, 1968 by Harvest Books.

ISBN:
978-0-544-31265-4
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4 stars (1 review)

OCLC 11343848

4 editions

Review of 'Totalitarianism' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The two examples of totalitarianism Earth has on record are the only ones from which we can generalize. While I'm wary of the accuracy of a 2-data point trend line, Hannah Arendt has some interesting observations that serve as warning signs for our society today. Rather than fixating on words labeling ideas, such as "socialism" or "nationalist," Arendt analyzes societal trends that seem to incubate totalitarianism: racism, absolutism, single-party political environments.

Interestingly, totalitarianism doesn't formally replace the previous system in which it metastasized. This book makes me simultaneously realize I need to read more fundamental political theory (Hobbes, Marx) and grow skeptical that any ideologically driven system has all the answers.

Nazi leadership believed: "The more accurately we recognize and observe the laws of nature and life, ... so much the more do we conform to the will of the Almighty. The more insight we have into the will of …