Totalitarianism



What is it?

It's a political system in which the state have total authority respecting almost all aspects in public and private life. This kind of government do not permit any kind of individual freedom and seeks through all aspects of human life.

Totalitarianism is a modern type of government in which the state involves in all aspect of society, and within them the daily life of its citizens. It not only seeks to control the economical and political values, but also the attitudes, values, and believes, and its goal is to replace the existing society with a "perfect society".

Characteristics:

Despite the many differences between the totalitarian governments and their different ideological ideas, they all have many things in common. The 2 most important are the existence of an ideology that applies to al the aspects of the life and outlines to achieve the final goal. And the other is that this type of government has a single party through which the people are mobilised for support and energy. This parties and groups are typically lead by a dictator. This leadership maintains the control over the governmental system (police, military, communications, education, and economy).

Causes:

There isn't a single cause for the growth of totalitarian governments and tendencies. But the emergence of totalitarian government is probably the result of historical moments. For example, the chaos after the wake of the world war 1, allowed the establishment of totalitarian regimes in Russia, Italy, and Germany.

References

En.wikipedia.org (2013). Totalitarianism. [online] Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totalitarianism [Accessed: 13 Sep 2013].

Encyclopedia Britannica (2013). totalitarianism (government). [online] Retrieved from: http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/600435/totalitarianism [Accessed: 13 Sep 2013].

Infoplease.com (2013). totalitarianism: Introduction | Infoplease.com. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/history/totalitarianism.html [Accessed: 13 Sep 2013].

Infoplease.com (2013). totalitarianism: Causes | Infoplease.com. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/history/totalitarianism-causes.html [Accessed: 13 Sep 2013].

Infoplease.com (2013). totalitarianism: Characteristics | Infoplease.com. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/history/totalitarianism-characteristics.html [Accessed: 13 Sep 2013].