Economy and the Totalitarian State

Hello ATS-ers !

As media and government state that we are '' supposed '' to be recovering from the economic crisis, my attention was drawn to renowned political theorist Hannah Arendt ( Read her Biography here ) ; here's a snippet of a summary from her book '' The Origins of Totalitarianism '' published in 1951 :

The book's final section is devoted to describing the mechanics of totalitarian movements, focusing on Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia. Here, Arendt discusses the transformation of classes into masses, the role of propaganda in dealing with the non-totalitarian world, and the use of terror, essential to this form of government. Totalitarian movements are fundamentally different from autocratic regimes, says Arendt, insofar as autocratic regimes seek only to gain absolute political power and to outlaw opposition, while totalitarian regimes seek to dominate every aspect of everyone's life as a prelude to world domination. Arendt discusses the use of front organizations, fake governmental agencies, and esoteric doctrines as a means of concealing the radical nature of totalitarian aims from the non-totalitarian world. A final section added to the second edition of the book 1958 suggests that individual isolation and loneliness are preconditions for totalitarian domination.

Source


One of the factors in the apparition of a totalitarian regime is an economic crisis or depression, followed by a general decomposition of all social classes. This would then encourage the feeling of '' national '' identity, allowing a charismatic figure to '' take control ''.


Another author who worked on the notion of Totalitarianism is Claude Lefort, french philosopher and activist ( Here's his bio ).


In his book, '' L'invention démocratique '' , Lefort compares the totalitarian regime to a democratic regime to determine its characterisitics. He states that in a totalitarian regime, a certain ideology in enforced and the idea of social classes/division is rejected.


After thinking about the current economic troubles of many countries, and the several theories on a New World Order, one could wonder if the Economic crisis was indeed deliberate to eliminate social differences and unite a large population under a multi-national Totalitarian State.

Thoughts ?

Peace.

Flags and no comments ?

Come on people ! =D !!!

Peace !

Ok, I think it's very possible. The Green Agenda is about control, being on the govt dole is about control, statements by Barry like,"But at some point I think enough is enough." when talking about wealth, reeks of control. Since when does the Pres. get to decide how much $ I can make? There's going to be the elite, and the rest. Economic failure, which we're seeing in Europe, not to mention 'the spill', spell, disaster. High energy costs next year, coupled with rising unemployment will further cripple America. I think that, and a food crisis and maybe a natural disaster or two, would be a situation in which the govt could begin it's final stages of a take-over. (as the feds warned us, don't expect any help in the first 24-72 hours)SmartGrowth plans worldwide already indicate a global partnership in unity. Localized govts will assume more power and zoning laws will be changed. I think it's very possible, you can call it totalitarianism, or one world govt, either way, it's the UN, it's global and I think, coming to a neighborhood near you soon!