Читать книгу Political Science For Dummies - Marcus A. Stadelmann - Страница 90

As the term implies, in a totalitarian state, the government exercises total control over its citizens. The government controls the social, political, and economic aspect of a person’s life, and the person enjoys no freedoms whatsoever. Totalitarian regimes are rare in history. The two most prominent governments that qualify being called totalitarian are Nazi Germany (1933–1945) and Stalinist Russia (1929–1953). See Figure 4-1.

At the same time, there were many dictatorships and monarchies that restricted people’s freedoms, but none of them was able to become totalitarian in nature. What makes a government totalitarian? To qualify as totalitarian, a government has to control all aspects of a person’s life and meet the following six characteristics:

 One-party state: There has to be one major political party that controls all aspects of not only the government but also a person’s life. It’s the only legal party, and people have to join it to advance politically or economically in a totalitarian society. No opposition parties are tolerated.Source: (a) Wikimedia Commons; (b) Library of CongressFIGURE 4-1: Adolf Hitler of Germany (a) and Joseph Stalin of Russia (b) were leaders of former totalitarian governments.In Germany, the National Socialist Workers Party (NSDAP) fulfilled this role, while in the Soviet Union, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) had a similar role. Citizens joined the party at a young age and were being consistently indoctrinated throughout their lives. The party was there at every stage of their lives. The Hitler Youth in Germany and the Young Octobrists in the Soviet Union are examples of such youth political party organizations. Children were not just politically indoctrinated but were also taught how to fight and show extreme devotion to the totalitarian leader. These party organizations became like second families to many children. They spent weekends with the party, not their families, made friends in the organizations, and often would find their future spouse at party events. Later, when becoming adults, children would join the regular party.

 One dominant ideology: One ideology explains political and economic life to the average citizen. This ideology justifies why government is in power and why certain leaders are all-powerful. The ideology further lays out the economic structure of the country and even explains its foreign policy. Chapters 16 and 17 look at both fascism and communism and how the two were used to justify Stalin’s and Hitler’s rule. The average citizen is indoctrinated with this ideology throughout life. Political party organizations at all levels of life will familiarize citizens with the ideology. In addition, educational structures, including universities, will teach the ideology, and it permeates all aspects of the media.

 Total control over the media: Government has to fully control all aspects of the media. This includes television, the radio, and newspapers. No news from nonapproved government sources can enter the country, and the population can have access to only government-approved news. The average citizen is allowed to know only what the government wants him to know. The government controls not only the news but also education, the arts, and even movies. Everything a citizen sees is government-approved. In both the Soviet Union under Stalin and Hitler’s Germany, the government did exercise total control of the media. It was virtually impossible for the average German or Russian to get information that wasn’t biased or government-controlled.Today, it has become a lot tougher to control the media, which now includes the Internet and social media. With globalization (see Chapter 13), it has become virtually impossible to totally isolate a population and control its access to other news sources.

 Control over the police: Government has to not only control the regular police to maintain law and order but also establish a secret police to control its population. This secret police has to instill a culture of fear into the average person so that he won’t question or turn against the regime. Everybody in the country needs to know the kind of punishment he’ll face if he questions or turns against the regime. Both the NKVD in the Soviet Union and the Gestapo in Germany performed this function. Mass killings and torture of dissidents was common, and every Russian and German knew the punishment for opposing the regime. In turn, opposition to both totalitarian regimes was minimal.

 Control over the military: History has shown that most dictators are toppled by their own militaries. Control over the military is difficult to accomplish in most authoritarian regimes, even monarchies. In a totalitarian society, it’s different because the military is brought under the total control of the regime.In the Soviet Union, Stalin executed almost all his officer corps during the Great Purges in the 1930s to bring the military under his control. This assured him total loyalty of the military.In Germany, Hitler struck a deal with the military, eliminating the socialist wing of his national socialist party, which in turn led the German military leadership to acquiesce to his rule. Later, a force separate from the military was created to assure that in the event the military turned against Hitler, there would be another military branch to protect him. This was the infamous SS.In both countries, within a few years of totalitarian rule, the military lost its independence and became a tool of the ruling regime.

 Control over the economy: To qualify as a totalitarian regime, a government has to control its economy. In the Soviet Union, all property was nationalized and owned by the government, and the government planned for the economy, abolishing the free market. Government control of the economy was a given.Germany was different. In Germany, private property and ownership of business existed, but the government often intervened, telling businesses what to produce and how much to charge for it. Often, the government itself became the largest purchaser of privately produced goods.

Only if a government controls all six areas can it be labeled totalitarian. If it meets only five or fewer of the criteria, it’s considered authoritarian instead of totalitarian. With technological advances today, it’s very unlikely that any government could ever qualify as totalitarian again. It has become impossible to control all aspects of the media, to prevent a country’s citizenry to be kept in the dark for long periods of time.