English Literature

Totalitarianism is a form of government, as the name suggests, where the state is in total control of every aspect of society.  This form of government is common in countries with despotic or authoritarian regimes.  George Orwell, through his novel, 1984, gives us a look on what life is like under a totalitarian regime where members of society are under the watchful eyes of Big Brother.  In real life, such examples of totalitarian governments in modern times were Nazi Germany, the former Soviet Union and its satellite states, and to a certain extent, Afghanistan during the rule of the Taliban.  At present, North Korea is the only know state that is still totalitarian in nature.  Totalitarian states have several characteristics.  They are run by those who hold extremist views in politics or religion, as in the case of Afghanistan and they would force-feed their views and beliefs on the people.  These states are essentially police states where the everyday routine of the individual is closely watched to ensure conformity and any deviation or actions that go outside the norm is dealt with swiftly and drastically.  Finally, citizens of these states do not have any rights, only duties and responsibilities which primarily entail complete obedience or compliance to the will of the state.

The author would like to present that totalitarian states are evil or unjust forms of government.  While they promise or bring some semblance of order and harmony in society, it comes at the price of violating individual human rights and showing no regard for personal freedom of the individual.
Totalitarian states are run by those with extremist views.  Those in power subscribe to extremist views in politics.  They believe that absolute power should be used to keep order because they believe this is essential for the survival and maintenance of a strong and orderly state.  In addition, this is their idea of promoting equality through the order they bring.  They frown down on anyone who holds differing opinions about the norms of society and deal with them harshly. This was the case of the fascist regimes of Nazi Germany, Italy and the former Soviet Union where once they were in power, they would impose their ideology on the entire citizenry (Shirer, 660). In addition, indoctrination or brainwashing is the norm.  It is not only limited to the schools which teach special classes on the ideology, but it is also advertised with posters all around with slogans exhorting everyone to subscribe to the ideology.  Such was the case Winston Smith who, like everybody else in Oceania, are constantly bombarded by the face of Big Brother and the slogan, War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength (Orwell, 16).  In North Korea, people are required to pay homage to the Great Leader Kim Il-Sung by bowing before his statue in a square in Pyongyang as well as adorn their homes with portraits of the Great Leader and even wear a pin with his image on it.

Anyone who opposes or refuses to subscribe are persecuted.  This was what the Nazis and Soviets did to the dissidents who dared stand up to them.  They would send them to concentration camps of execute them without the need for a trial.  In Taliban-era Afghanistan, they observe a very strict form of Islam which forbids practically everything except prayer.  These strict laws are harshly felt by women as they were forbidden to go to school or work.  Anyone who disobeys are punished and the worst thing that can happen is to be executed in public.

When all these characteristics are put together, there is one result  people do not have any rights whatsoever.  This is because in totalitarian states, the individual is not important.  The state is more important and everyone must profess loyalty to the state.  In exchange for this loyalty or obedience, the state will look after their needs.  In looking at the case of the countries mentioned, while it is true there is order and equality, people are not happy as evidenced by defections or risky escapes of several of its citizens.  People are treated like robots, conditioned to obey and not allowed to be different from the rest.

By way of conclusion, totalitarian is the kind of regime that would not be suitable for people who value freedom as shown by the examples of these countries involved.  As proven by scenes of life in these countries and testimonies from those who fled from it, no one is happy.  The signs of order and apparent happiness are nothing more than a faade to impress outsiders but behind that faade lie the ugly side of totalitarianism which the escapees know all too well.  The only way to prevent totalitarianism from prevailing is not to join or support political groups that hold extremist views.  These are the ones who are very likely to install an authoritarian regime.  One must not be taken in by their promises of order and equality and the promise of a strong stable government because the price to be paid in getting these would be ones personal freedom and rights. No form of government is perfect and totalitarianism should not fool itself into thinking it is perfect while they criticize democracy for its apparent lack of order nor should it underestimate the power of democratic governments.  The Second World War has demonstrated that and it should be something freedom-loving people should be proud of.