The Origins of Totalitarianism
Hannah Arendt's first major work analyzing Nazism and Stalinism.
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The book argues totalitarianism is a novel form of government that differs essentially from despotism, tyranny, and dictatorship.[1] Arendt contends that totalitarianism uses terror against entire populations, not just political opponents.[1]
Making and release
Subsequent editions omitted this chapter, which was published separately in English and German in 1958.[2] As Arendt makes clear in her original preface, the book was written and essentially completed in 1945.[3] Five years later, in 1955, a German version titled Elemente und Ursprünge totaler Herrschaft came out.[4] An expanded second edition, featuring a revised Preface plus two new chapters, was issued in 1958.[5]
Prefaces for each of the book's three Parts, composed by Arendt in 1967, were included in later printings.[2]
What the cited sources add
Wasserstein also claimed that Arendt's comparisons of Nazism and communism were sporadic and uneven, and she hardly dealt with Italian fascism.[3] Horowitz notes that Arendt's near-total absence of study of Italian fascism may simply signify a lack of interest in that system's features.[3] Horowitz argues that the history of Italian unification, the role of the papacy, and Italy's economic weaknesses all argue against a muscular totalitarianism there.[3] Saada asserts that Arendt overemphasizes scientific racism and should instead attribute blame to "bureaucratic racism".[6]
Emmanuelle Saada challenges the idea that a direct link exists between the growth of scientific racism and the expansion of colonialist imperialism.[6] Saada argues that notions such as those of Arthur de Gobineau, which Arendt highlights, lacked significant influence in providing a scientific justification for European colonialism.[6]
References
- Wikipedia, "The Origins of Totalitarianism" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Arendt 1976; Arendt 1976; FCG 2018, p. Introduction; Arendt 1976; Riesman 1951; FCG 2018, p. Introduction; Copjec 1996; Hattem Hattem 2005; Heller 2015, p. 7 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Origins of Totalitarianism" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Arendt 1958; Arendt 1958a; Szécsényi 2005 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Horowitz, "Assaulting Arendt", First Things, January 2010. facts only, no text reused. firstthings.com
- Wikipedia, "The Origins of Totalitarianism" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Arendt 1976; Originally published in the United Kingdom as The Burden of Our Time. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Origins of Totalitarianism" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Arendt 1976; Arendt 1953 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Origins of Totalitarianism" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Saada, "The Cambridge History of French Thought", Cambridge University Press, 2019, p. 353–362 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article The Origins of Totalitarianism (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: The Origins of Totalitarianism (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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