Essays on Totalitarianism

Totalitarianism, in simple terms, is best described as a society where the ruler or ruling group has total control over the governing society. The government controls all private and private aspects of citizens life in a totalitarian society. There have been a few countries under...

In terms of discussing the Soviet experience, totalitarianism is a term often found in academic journals and articles. However, can this term be wholly applied to the entirety of the Soviet Union leadership? In this essay, I will discuss the concept of totalitarianism and where...

Writing after WWII, Hannah Arendt, in her text, The Origins of Totalitarianism, moves from a discussion of the plight (danger) of national ‘minorities’ and the altogether ‘stateless’ in the inter-war years of European history to a fundamental critique of the notion of ‘human rights’. Who...

Throughout our history, humans have struggled to create the perfect society, the utopia of our dreams where all people live free and happy. Many experiments have occurred over history to create this perfect society, from the United States to Communism, all of which were founded...

Nowadays, totalitarianism is commonly thought to be a terrifying regime from the past, regime that triggered numerous deaths and suffers. However, some countries continue to maintain totalitarian or authoritarian regimes. What is more surprising, the development of modern technologies facilitates total control over the public,...

Introduction 20th Century was a new era in the world history and it was an era that differs in many aspects from other centuries by including two major wars (WW1 and WW2) and Great Depression. The modernization movement and industrialization which came with the Enlightenment...

The French Revolution was an effort to transform France from an unequal rule by the monarchy into an ideal republican form of government that was based on Enlightenment concepts such as natural rights and legal egalitarianism. In its ambitious attempt to do so, it disregarded...

In order for one to exist in a totalitarian society whose government is successful in its control, one must deal on a day-to-day basis with strong persuasion and propaganda. These totalitarian societies have an iron grip on their people, leaving their citizens with absolutely no...

There is no voice from citizens in a country under control by the totalitarian government. In a totalitarian government, the highly central authority seeks to control everything of society. The power of the masses is small and weak, which cannot bring any devastating impact to...

Imagine a place where there is no color, no choice; a place where individuality and freedom have been traded for sameness and security. Lois Lowry is a popular children’s book author, she was born on March 20, 1937. She won two Newbery medal awards for...

Following the political upheaval and struggle for power after the second world war, George Orwell’s novel 1984 cautions against the dangers of oppression and exemplifies the consequential nightmarish world of the near future. The plot traces the struggles of the main character, Winston Smith, as...

Despite the abundance of publications on various international conflicts, a number of aspects concerning the experience of civilian populations in the occupied territories remain obscure. The sufferings experienced by the victims are at the forefront of the published descriptions. Yet, silence remains regarding the future...

“When you give the government the power to control the money supply, it grows like a tumour until it extinguishes society itself” (Stephen Molyneux). In George Orwell’s novel 1984, it is evident Orwell is trying emphasize the dangers of having a totalitarian government, which can...

The nineteenth century was a time of great change and upheaval for humanity. The collapse of entire governmental systems that had been the status quo for centuries, the fall of empires, implementation of brand-new systems of governments, the two bloodiest wars in human history, the...

The Land of Green Plums, by Herta Müller, is a novel arguably as defined by its language as its content. There are many interpretations of Müller’s literary style, and one of the most cogent is that it serves to show the reader how indirect, and...

The 20th century witnessed the rise of two opposing ideological movements: Mussolini’s fascism and Stalin’s communism. Both having a symbolic representation of their movements: Mussolini’s fascist Italy and Stalin’s communist USSR. Mussolini and Stalin both aimed to establish a totalitarian system in their country. Both...

George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) is a science fiction novel based in a critical dystopia, written at the end of the Second World War. The start of the twentieth century brought about advancements in technology and was a catalyst for a new modern society. However,...

Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, is a political novel which draws attention to the consequences of a totalitarian regime. It depicts the struggles of young adult, Katniss Everdeen, who lives in a disadvantaged province, or ‘District’, and her journey as an advocate of freedom and...