Totalitarianism was a term which did not see much use until 1933, which was the year the use of the term spiked according to Google Ngram. The word ‘Totalitarianism’ hit its peak in 1943, and slowly began to decline from there, aside from seeing a slight increase in use from the years 1990-1995. The term ‘totalitarian’ followed the same pattern of use, rapidly increasing from 1933-1943, and declining from there, even following the rise from 1990-1995. However, the use of the word totalitarian was much more common than the use of the term ‘totalitarianism’. This pattern was due to the fact that totalitarianism did not see a rise to fame until a communist administration was installed in Russia. Soon after totalitarian regimes were also installed in Italy, and Germany. Though these regimes fell after the second World War, Russia remained under totalitarian rule for years come. China also fell under totalitarian rule after joining the Soviet Union, and revolution in Cuba led to a totalitarian regime being installed there. The term totalitarianism can be applied to systems of government which are controlled by a single dictator, or political party, with absolute power. Totalitarianism also requires complete compliance to the state. Normally totalitarian regimes also require all land and production to be owned by the state. Currently there are remaining totalitarian regimes in the world, despite the democratic countries’ efforts to rid the world stage of such systems of government. The People’s Republic Of Korea (North Korea) is still under a totalitarian regime, behind the rule of Kim Jong Un. Cuba, is also under a totalitarian regime to this day. In the past, leaders of Totalitarian states have been known to rule with brutal systems, asserting their absolute power. In the past, Totalitarianism has seen cruel leaders such as, Mao Zedong, Adolf Hitler, and Joseph Stalin. One of the most notable Totalitarian regimes, was the one installed in the world superpower the Soviet Union, behind the rule of Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, and Mikhail Gorbachev. It was the ongoing battle against this form of government by the democratic world, paired with post-war tensions between the Soviet Union and the U.S.A that fueled the cold war. The origins of Totalitarianism came from the initial idea of a utopian society thought up by Karl Marx, in the Communist Manifesto. However, in practice, totalitarianism did not provide a utopian society, but in fact the opposite. Totalitarian regimes ran into many problems in the past. As said by the British politician Lord Acton, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely”, and most dictators at the helm of their regimes were quickly corrupted, and resorted to brutal and unspeakable means to asserting their power over their respective countries. The death toll of innocent people due to the practice of totalitarianism numbers in the hundreds of millions. The worst of these regimes, was the communist system of government led by Mao Zedong in China, from 1943-1976. This administration claimed the lives of 45-75 million people. Totalitarianism has proved inferior to Democracy in history. This is due to the practice of totalitarian regimes resulting in corrupted dictators having seized control of the government, and inflicting inhuman conditions of the people of the country. Democratic countries fighting to abolish totalitarianism results in totalitarian administrations falling and being replaced by a more democratic system of government.
Gary Ghag
Cosmos|Hearth 