A system of government that demands complete subservience to state authority and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life. Totalitarian regimes use surveillance, propaganda, and terror to eliminate individual freedom and independent thought.
Coined in the 1920s by Italian fascists and later adopted by critics of such regimes. From 'total' meaning complete and the suffix '-itarian' relating to authority, the term was popularized by Hannah Arendt's analysis of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia.
Totalitarianism reached its horrific peak under Hitler and Stalin, who used modern technology and bureaucracy to control populations in ways previous dictators could never imagine. George Orwell's '1984' captured the essence of totalitarian control, and his concepts like 'Big Brother' and 'thought police' remain relevant in discussions about surveillance and authoritarianism today.
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