Some consider totalitarianism government as a centralized government that requires complete obedience from those living under the power. Others consider it as “ the complete control by the state of all areas of life” and the unlimited power of the human memory (Kołakowski 133). Either way, they both have the ability to instill fear within each human. This fear is demonstrated in a novel written in 1949 that is based around the concept of a dystopian society under this totalitarianistic control, following around the protagonist Winston Smith. In George Orwell’s 1984, the idea of fear that haunts Winston and others in his society mirrors the fear and the effect of it that humans experienced in the 1940s with the rise of totalitarian governments
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Big Brother and the party thrive off the very sense of power. “The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake” (Orwell 263). To the Party, as well as Hitler and other leaders, the only thing that has significance to them is that they have total control. They gain this control by monitoring every move. Therefore everyone fears the idea of being caught in the wrong act. O’brien, the antagonist of the novel, explains the source of the Party’s madness. “The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power.” (Orwell 263). Basically, what the Party, in this case, wants, the Party gets. If something gets in their way, torture and persecution is put into place. The Party is selfish and only cares about what they can gain for themselves, as did Hitler. Leaders instill fear into people living in their totalitarian society. Real world totalitarian governments believe success is found through the “thirst for domination inherent in human nature” (Kolakowski 123). The primary way to gain this domination discussed in the quote is by inducing fear. The Nazis needed full cooperation from everyone in order fulfill their radical program; Big Brother did as well. Terror intimidated those wanting to rebel in both the fantasy society and the reality
Big Brother and the party thrive off the very sense of power. “The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake” (Orwell 263). To the Party, as well as Hitler and other leaders, the only thing that has significance to them is that they have total control. They gain this control by monitoring every move. Therefore everyone fears the idea of being caught in the wrong act. O’brien, the antagonist of the novel, explains the source of the Party’s madness. “The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power.” (Orwell 263). Basically, what the Party, in this case, wants, the Party gets. If something gets in their way, torture and persecution is put into place. The Party is selfish and only cares about what they can gain for themselves, as did Hitler. Leaders instill fear into people living in their totalitarian society. Real world totalitarian governments believe success is found through the “thirst for domination inherent in human nature” (Kolakowski 123). The primary way to gain this domination discussed in the quote is by inducing fear. The Nazis needed full cooperation from everyone in order fulfill their radical program; Big Brother did as well. Terror intimidated those wanting to rebel in both the fantasy society and the reality