The Origins Of Totalitarianism Today

Thwarting Totalitarianism Today After World War 2 and the rise of totalitarian government across Europe, people finally had the opportunity to contemplate exactly how a totalitarian government can come to be, and it was not until Hannah Arendt wrote The Origins of Totalitarianism that the public got a decent answer to how those governments can commit horrendous crimes against humanity. However, what the book does not do is outline how modern governments could help prevent a movement, like Nazism or the Bolshevik rule in Russia, from occurring again in their own country. Indeed, when contemplating utopian society, as Plato did in Republic or as Aristotle did in The Politics, one must consider not only the past failings of governments, but …show more content…
Instead, she asserts that the only aspect that a totalitarian government truly aims to organize is the largest body of people it can (Arendt 575). This is problematic to combat, however, as any country of substantial size is at risk, and short of limiting population to prevent a mass of people that could spark the movement, there is not a clear answer on preventing a movement with this information alone. Therefore, a utopian government must target the specific types of people that totalitarianism entices in order to combat it. Here, the definition of masses becomes important in discovering whom totalitarian movements target, and, of course, who joins the movement. To define the masses, Arendt wrote:
[t]he term masses applies only where we deal with people who either because of sheer number, or indifference, or a combination of both, cannot be integrated into any organization based on common interest, into political parties or municipal governments or professional organizations or trade unions. …show more content…
The loneliness of the marginalized allows the masses to become uninterested in the state of their neighbors, which, consequently, is why totalitarian-state citizens believe that the extermination of their own and other nation’s citizens are of no consequence and can be sacrificed for the good of the country. When addressing the absolute terror of being marginalized—lonely—Arendt expands on her reasoning by stating, “[t]he merciless process into which totalitarianism drives and organizes the masses looks like a suicidal escape from this reality” (590). The marginalized masses, who, again, are ironically the majority in number yet minority in voice, seek any escape from their lonely reality and find it when the totalitarian government extends an offer to join a larger group, which is the masses, written about by Arendt. How does a utopia address this loneliness created by being on the margin of society? By addressing the above issues, political inattention and lack of education, most likely the margins of society will become closer to the center and the masses will become less lonely and susceptible to control. Creating laws that encourage people to accept others’ differences will also help is closing this gap between