Comparison and Contrast between Theocratic and Secular Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system that involves the state having total control over the society. The state seeks to control all aspects of the private and public life of its citizens wherever possible. All cultural, social, spiritual, intellectual, economic, and political activities in the state get subordinated to the purposes of the people ruling the state (Ferrero, 2013). According to Wild and Wild (2014), the rulers of a totalitarian state believe that for a political system to be effective, every aspect of the lives of the people must be controlled. All other institutions such as religion, labor, authority, and family are subordinate to the state. As such, the state is the highest-ranking body and the rulers exploit the population for foreign conquest. The government has a lot of power that it can control the economy and make workers dependent on it. Once people depend on the government, they are forced to obey and do as it needs (Funk & Wagnalls, 2014). This paper will exploit the differences and similarities between two major types of totalitarianism, that is, theocratic and secular totalitarianism. It will also discuss how the two forms of
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God is the sole sovereign and his divine commands are used as the law in a theocracy. It is arguably right to say that the clergy hold control. Theocracies are rare, but whenever they occur, they tend to be very permanent (Ferrero, 2013). Some major examples of theocracies that have existed through history include the Ayatollahs of Iran, the Taliban of Afghanistan and Buddhist regimes of traditional Mongolia, Bhutan and Tibet (Fererro, 2013). People are promoted into government positions basing on their religious affiliations as opposed to education or public policy like in secular
Totalitarianism is a system of government in which the state acts to extends its absolute authority and power into all aspects of its citizen’s lives and have that population be completely under the control of a totally pervasive ruling ideology of a single leader. The essence of totalitarianism can be found in its very name; it is a form of rule in which the government attempts to maintain 'total' control over society, and further seeks to meld that state’s beliefs within that societies core roots, an example of this occurrence can be liquidised through Stalin and his methods in Russia during the 1920’s and 30’s. Carl Friedrich’s, a late political scientist and historian of the 20th century formed the basis of a totalitarian
The totalitarian exercise of power always leads to social injustice according to the vision set out in the Bible. Only by expanding its horizons to include more than the particular interests of specific individuals or groups can a society establish socially just foundations. This has been demonstrated historically and in the modern era, not only by systems of neo-liberalism, but also by nationalist and communist totalitarian systems, which have been seen to collapse during recent decades.
In a totalitarian dictatorship there is an official ideology, covering all aspects of a man’s existence to which everyone living in that society must adhere. A totalitarian dictatorship is also a single mass party led typically by one man the “dictator” and has a system of terroristic police control in order for the dictator to remain in power [doc 1]. Totalitarian governments also had total control over the military, economy and means of communication such as newspapers and propaganda.
At times, entire populations are sheltered from the rest of the world and its ‘pleasures’, to comply with an principle such as egalitarianism or socialism, i.e. communism in North Korea, and formerly the Soviet Union. These very same people are led to believe in blind faith that their society is always right, and therefore perfect. Unfortunately, the government in Anthem abuses
Totalitarianism is a concept of government that emerged from the ruins of war. Although it has existed since the dawn of the human era, the twentieth century is where this form of government flourished.
Despite the primitive backwardness of this collectivist society, the power of its suppressive methods must be recognized. The dictators have succeeded in subjugating the populace in ways that go beyond the stifling policies of such murderous tyrants as Hitler, Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Pol Pot. These real-life collectivist rulers forced millions of human beings to surrender their individuality in practice. The dictatorial regimes of Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, Communist China, and Communist Cambodia forced their citizens, in action, to serve the state. Individuals had no right to their own lives, and their actions were brutally controlled; they were slaves of Nazism or Communism.
This implies a relationship in which the state through its instruments dominates society. Hence in the totalitarian state all political, economic, social, cultural and intellectual activities should be directed towards fulfilling the aims of the state” (“Totalitarianism”, 1999). In a totalitarian state, individuals have no rights and they must obey the government without question. If individuals questioned or disagreed with the government, they were silenced by death or prison.
Totalitarianism is a political system in which the government has the authority to regulate every aspect of public and private behavior. Since totalitarianism is based off of a specific ideology, every totalitarian government or group can be different from each other. There is no single established definition for the term, however all definitions of totalitarianism contain commonalities. New World Encyclopedia states that these commonalities include getting a mass population to follow a specific ideology, instituting control, and setting up repercussions for those who go against the totalitarian state. By defining totalitarianism, it displays the difference from a democracy and the similarities to the government of North Korea. (Totalitarianism).
Imagine living in a world where politics are everything and all forms of individuality and personal identities are shattered. A world where everybody is stripped of their rights to talk, act, think, or even form their own opinions, simply because they do not agree with the government’s beliefs. These aspects are just a few of the examples of things dictators would have control over in a totalitarianism form of government. Aggressive leaders such as Hitler and Joseph Stalin are examples of such dictators. They used their power for terror and murder, and their motive is simply to maximize their own personal power. George Orwell had
“We can't be confined to one way of thinking, and that terrifies our leaders. It means we can't be controlled. And it means that no matter what they do, we will always cause trouble for them.” (Roth, 2012) Victoria Roth describes the way people act in a society, individuals are different from one another, and therefore have different beliefs, ideas, and thoughts. When a ruler comes into power, he wants to make the whole community think as he does, but the real problem comes when he abuses of his power to take control. In this way totalitarian governments and rulers have arose, and have intended to influence in the society to achieve their goals. A totalitarian leader controls
Totalitarianism is a form of government that takes total control of everything the surrounding population does on a daily basis. Under a totalitarian government, an individual citizen loses any of their preexisting beliefs, values, and morals and forcefully gets them replaced with what the government wants the population to practice and believe. The main goal of a totalitarian government is controlling the population in a given society and reinventing them into a “perfect” society. Many believe that there is one root cause as to why a government adopts totalitarian fundamentals, but this is not true. A totalitarian government is usually the result of horrific incidents that transpire and leave the society in a devastated and chaotic state.
Totalitarian – of or relating to a political regime based on subordination of the individual to the state and strict control of all aspects of the life and productive capacity of the nation especially by coercive measures
Totalitarian governments are essentially highly powerful dictatorships, controlling every part of their citizens lives some of the main ones being Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Communist China. These Totalitarian governments force their citizens into corner giving only the bare minimums, and keeping everything else for the state. This full control by the government only furthers the people's need for the government, creating a loop of power in which the government gains all the fruits of the people's labor and crushes all those that oppose them.
Totalitarianism is defined as being a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state. Totalitarian governments such as Nazi Germany and Italy while under Mussolini’s dictatorship compare to INGSOC in the way that they eliminated everything an individual should be able to decide for themselves. For instance, they decide what people should believe and what values they should hold. The most striking resemblance between INGSOC
Totalitarian – of or relating to a political regime based on subordination of the individual to the state and strict control of all aspects of the life and productive capacity of the nation especially by coercive measures