Totalitarian regime

The word "totalitarianism" (from the Late Latin "totalitas") means completeness, wholeness. This term appeared and spread in the twenties and thirties. The concept was used to designate the political systems of a number of countries that existed then. For example, they said that there was a totalitarian regime in Italy, Nazi Germany, and also in the Bolshevik Soviet Union.

One of the first people to use this concept was J. Amendola. This author declared that communism, like fascism, is a totalitarian regime, which is a reaction to democracy and liberalism.

This term was used by J. Gentile. In 1925, the Italian government began to use the definition. Thanks to the activities of Gentile, who was the ideologist of fascism, this term came into use.

The totalitarian regime, the signs of which are quite peculiar, arises (as history shows) in situations of deep crisis: in the postwar period, during the war, etc. At such times, it is necessary to take tough measures to restore the economy, stop the strife, restore order, and ensure stability. At the same time, social groups in need of protection act as the social basis of the state.

Among the conditions conducive to the emergence of a totalitarian regime, researchers point to the industrialization of society. In this case, one of the main prerequisites for the development of a new political system is an increase in the capacity of the media, which contributes not only to universal ideologization, but also to the establishment of control over all spheres of personal activity. Under these conditions, monopolization of the economy is born, combined with the strengthening of state power, as well as its controlling and regulating functions.

The totalitarian regime is usually characterized by the presence of one, officially formed ideology. It is assigned by the ruling elite, political party, leader, movement or "leader of the people". Undoubted is the desire of the state to acquire absolute control over all spheres of society's life, as well as to the complete subordination of the man to the dominant ideology and the existing power. Along with this, the state and the people are viewed as a single, inseparable whole.

Ideology is determined by the political leader. At the heart of this ideology lies a logical movement towards a specific goal (to building communism or world domination, for example).

The totalitarian regime takes only one party. At the same time, other political formations are dispersed, destroyed, and banned. The party of power (the ruling power) is declared the leader, and its attitudes are presented as sacred dogmas.

In the conditions of state administration, totalitarianism is characterized by extreme centralism. Management in practice is presented in the form of executing commands from the top. At the same time, the initiative is not only discouraged, but also severely punished. Local authorities carry out the task of transferring teams.

As the center of the whole system comes the "leader". He is declared the most just, wise, infallible, thinking relentlessly only about the people's good. Any critical attitude to the leader is immediately suppressed.

An inalienable sign of the totalitarian regime is the constant and widely used terror against the population. Thus, the main condition for the realization and strengthening of power is physical violence. To do this, ghettos and concentration camps are created , in which torture, hard physical labor, suppression of resistance are widespread, and mass killings of people occur. It should be noted that the police exist under different political systems. But under totalitarianism, the "terrorist" nature of police control is manifested, in which, in order to kill a person, one does not need to prove his guilt.