Totalitarianism

Sociologyindex, Sociology Books 2011, Dictatorship, Democracy, Fascism, Military Dictatorship, Communist State, Stratocracy, Totalitarianism, Libertarianism, Anarchism, Authoritarianism

Totalitarianism refers to a state that regulates nearly every aspect of public and private behavior of the people. Totalitarianism corresponds to pluralism.

Totalitarianism is considered to be an extreme version of authoritarianism.

Paul C. Sondrol of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs argues that the while both authoritarians and totalitarianism are forms of autocracy, they differ in "key dichotomies":

(1) Unlike their bland and generally unpopular authoritarian brethren, totalitarian dictators develop a charismatic 'mystique' and a mass-based, pseudo-democratic interdependence with their followers via the conscious manipulation of a prophetic image.

(2) Concomitant role conceptions differentiate totalitarians from authoritatians. Authoritarians view themselves as indvidual beings, largely content to control; and maintain the status quo. Totalitarian self-conceptions are largely teleological. The tyrant is less a person than an indispensable 'function' to guide and reshape the universe.

(3) Consequently, the utilisation of power for personal aggrandizement is more evidence among authoritarians than totalitarians. Lacking the binding appeal of ideology, authoritarians support their rule by a mixture of instilling fear and granting rewards to loyal collaborators, engendering a kleptocracy.
Sondrol, Paul C. "Totalitarian and Authoritarian Dictators: A Comparison of Fidel Castro and Alfredo Stroessner." Journal of Latin American Studies 23(3): October 1991.

Dictatorship is government that has the power to govern without consent of those being governed. Dictatorship is a contrast to democracy.

In military dictatorship political power resides with the military. Similar to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military. Military dictatorships are a result of a coup d'état. Military dictatorship may be official or unofficial and may not qualify as stratocratic.

Military dictatorships is contrasted with Communist State. In Communist states, the center of power rests among civilian party officials.

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