The extreme form of an authoritarian regime is totalitarianism. The formation of political totalitarian regimes became possible at the industrial stage of development of mankind, when technically it became possible not only to control a person comprehensively, but also to control his or her consciousness, especially in times of social and economic crises.
Political traits:
- And in accordance with the logic of the totalitarian system, the comprehensive ideologization of societies is supplemented by its totalitarian politicization, hypertrophied apparatus of power, and its penetration into all pores of the social organism. All-powerful power is the main guarantor of ideological control over the population.
- Totalitarianism strives for the complete elimination of civil society, independent of the power of private life.
- The political system, or, to be more precise, the party-state organization of society, serves as the core and foundation of the entire social and economic organization, which is characterized by a rigid hierarchical structure.
- The core of the totalitarian political system is a highly centralized political movement for a new order led by a new, totalitarian party. This party merges with the state and concentrates real power in the society. Any political opposition and the creation of any organizations without the approval of the authorities are prohibited.
- The political features of totalitarian society also include the presence of a powerful apparatus of social control and coercion (security services, army, police, etc.), mass terror and intimidation of the population.
- Blind faith and fear are the main resources of totalitarian governance.
Totalitarianism tries to create an adequate social structure. Seeking to find a mass support, it proclaims the superiority of a certain class, nation or race, dichotomically divides all people into its own and others'. At the same time, there is necessarily an internal or external enemy of the bourgeoisie, imperialism, Jews, etc. In the process of elimination or restriction of private property there is a mass lumpenization of the population. The individual falls into total dependence on the state, without which the vast majority of people cannot obtain means of subsistence: work, housing, etc.
An individual loses all autonomy and rights, becomes completely defenseless before the all-powerful authorities and falls under total control. An attempt is being made to form a "new man," whose defining features are selfless devotion to ideology and leaders, diligence, modesty in consumption, and willingness to make any sacrifices for the sake of the "common cause. Simultaneously with the breaking down of the former social structure, a new one is being formed. Society is differentiated mainly depending on the distribution of power. Possession of power or influence on it becomes the basis of social stratification, economic and social privileges. A new, nomenklatura dominant class is being formed - the mainstay of the totalitarian system. Although totalitarianism, especially in its most consistent, communist variant, claims to form a socially homogeneous society, in reality it generates deep social inequality by leveling the distribution for the majority of citizens.
Ideology and politics dominate not only in the social sphere, but also in the economy. Here, totalitarianism is characterized by the tetanization of economic life, social limitation, and ideally by the complete elimination of private property, market relations, competition, planning and command and control methods. A monopoly of the state is being established at the disposal of all major public resources and the individual himself.
Varieties of totalitarianism:
Along with the commonality of fundamental institutional features, totalitarian political systems also have significant features, which allows us to identify several major varieties of them. Depending on the dominant ideology influencing the content of political activity, they are usually subdivided into communism, fascism and national-socialism.
Historically, the first and classic form of totalitarianism was communism (socialism) of the Soviet type, which was initiated by the military-communist system, which in general was formed in 1918. Communist totalitarianism, to a greater extent than other varieties, expresses the main features of this system, as it implies the complete elimination of private property and, consequently, any personal autonomy, the absolute power of the state.
Yet the characteristic of Soviet-type socialism as totalitarianism is one-sided and does not reveal the content and purpose of politics in this type of society.
The second type of totalitarian political systems is fascism. It was first established in Italy in 1922. Here, totalitarian features were not fully expressed. Italian fascism gravitated not so much to the radical construction of a new society as to the revival of the Italian nation and the greatness of the Roman Empire, the establishment of order and solid state power. Fascism claims to restore or purify the "people's soul", to ensure a collective identity on cultural or ethnic grounds, to eliminate mass crime. In Italy, the borders of fascist totalitarianism were established by the position of the most influential circles in the state: the king, the aristocracy, the officer corps and the church. When the regime's doom became apparent, these circles were able to remove Mussolini from power themselves.
The third type of totalitarianism was National Socialism. As a real political and social system, it also emerged in Germany in 1933. National Socialism is related to fascism, although it borrowed a lot from Soviet communism, especially from revolutionary and socialist components, forms of organization of the totalitarian party and state, and even the appeal of a "comrade". At the same time, the place of class is occupied by the nation, the place of class hatred of national and racial hatred. If in communist system's aggressiveness is directed first of all inside - against its own citizens (the class of the enemy), and in National Socialism - outside, against other nations. The main differences between the main types of totalitarianism are clearly expressed in their aims (communism, the revival of the empire, the world domination of the Aryan race) and social preferences (working class, descendants of the Romans, the German nation).
Any totalitarian state in one way or another adjoins the three main types of totalitarianism, although within each of these groups there are significant differences.