For all its fame, however, the book is notoriously difficult to come to terms with. When it was first published in 1951, The Origins of Totalitarianism established Arendt as a notable student of the political crisis of her time. Hannah Arendt’s Origins of Totalitarianism (1951) is the standard work on the subject.Only when we recognize the human background against which recent events have taken place, knowing that what was done was done by men and therefore can and must be prevented by men – only then will we be able to rid the world of its nightmarish quality. Where pursuit of the state’s goal is the only ideological foundation for such a government, achievement of the goal can never be acknowledged. The police operate without the constraint of laws and regulations. Large-scale, organized violence may be legitimized.

It is distinguished from dictatorship and authoritarianism by its supplanting of all political institutions and all old legal and social traditions with new ones to meet the state’s needs, which are usually highly focused. The term was coined in the early 1920s by Benito Mussolini, but totalitarianism has existed throughout history throughout the world (e.g., Qin dynasty China).

Totalitarianism, Form of government that subordinates all aspects of its citizens’ lives to the authority of the state, with a single charismatic leader as the ultimate authority.

For the full article, see totalitarianism.

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The origins of totalitarianism