Totalitarianism

Totalitarianism

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Totalitarianism

Hannah Arendt was a political philosopher and a historian of culture who lived from 1906 to 1975. Her areas of interest were modern politics. She specifically analyzed the factors that led to totalitarianism. During her time, totalitarianism was used to rule. There was oppression and unfair treatment. Nazism was part of this regime and it incorporated racism and discrimination. This is why she stood from the crowd and campaigned for modernity. She new the revolution would bring better living environment and liberty. She believed that political influence was significant in the lives of people. She argued that people identify their real beings when they participate in making decisions about their own way of living. She became popular after publishing a book called, “The origin of totalitarianism in 1951. She had previously published another, which brought a lot of controversy. The book was originally called “Burden of our times”[1].

This publication examines many topics like racism, revolution, racism, power, communism among others. The major concern was the evil politics in the twentieth. Right now, her admirers believe that she would like to see good politics where the every one is liberal and there is revolution. She would have wanted people too embrace modernity and develop socially in general. Her belief sounded impossible according to the situation and period when she lived. Women did not have any position in the society so it took a lot of self-determination to be heard.  She brought a positive change to social issues that seemed not significant[2].

Since the second half of the twentieth century, this publication has taken up a very significant role in determining the shape of international affairs. It has received many comments from liberal people who have taken time to read it. They seem to view it similar to communism or Nazism even though they are different. They consider this regime to be from selfish leaders. I am compelled by the nature of this regime. Having leaders who are dictators and doing what they want. It is also amazing to learn that a woman makes social changes worldwide. It is interesting to learn the challenges she has experienced before completion of this book. This book was originally written in Hebrew language[3]. No one was willing to translate it because leaders were offended by the contents of her previous book. It is compelling to see how determined she was. She understood that she had the right to express herself so no one should be denying her rights to do so. However, she was not the only writer who faced this challenge. In fact, all authors who wrote about totalitarianism in Hebrew, experienced delays in translation.

The author has attractively discussed about reasons of alienation in terms of personal and socially. Alienation talks about labor aspects, work and action. The book continues to elaborate on the emergence of anti-Semitism in parts of Europe. It is compelling to read about how the Jews were discriminated and looked down upon. All this happened to them because of their heritage. This is was very inhuman to discriminate people because of ethnicity, religion or other beliefs they are entitled[4]. This is likely to be the origin of prejudice in Germany. Arendt agrees that prejudice was a major factor of colonialism. This is because colonies racists and looked at some people as inferior. That is why they went ahead and colonized them. For example, nations from the western world colonized African countries because they considered them inferior. They were referred as people from the Dark Continent. This was in the early and middle of the nineteenth century. Further analysis is done on new imperialism phase, which started in 1884 and ended at the beginning of WW1.

Arendt discovered that modern imperialism originated from accrual of too much capital in European countries. The capital required being invested abroad for production. Therefore, there was need to stretch political control to those countries. There was also continental imperialism and rise of movements that represented parties. These movements became dangerous to the country and brought anti-Semitism[5].

Arendt’s work brought debates among political analysts. There were different comments on the various subjects and they influenced the judicial system. Some of court’s decisions were made in reference to this book. The court quoted the book when trying to protect the rights of people who have been displaced. Some people do not like how she expresses herself a philosopher of the continent. They do not like how she digs into woes of the early days. On the other hand, some readers find her inspiring and very intellectual. They admire how she is reluctant to accept conventional explanation of things without considering their logic. She does not care whether an ideology is generally accepted but if it is not logic to her, she will not embrace it. For example, she is against unfair treatment of the Jews because of their beliefs. Anti-Semitism was accepted in the society but she rose against it. This annoyed her critics but impressed her admirers[6].

The contradictory response to Arendt work causes ambiguity among her supporters and critics. For example, there is a reader who observed inconsistency. She said it was between the elitist and the democratic views from the author’s political perspective. Other readers continue to analyze her work and understand her attitude towards democratic government. Her first book was received with a lot of hostility and resistance but this one has attracted many readers. Many analysts have evaluated positive things about this book. For example, was Arendt misinterpreted and treated unfairly because of her publication. By doing this, they read the book and considered these possibilities. Many philosophers have borrowed a leaf from Arendt and learnt something. This book reinforces some issues I already knew[7]. One of them is prejudice. This vice still exists in our society today. It is mostly practiced by whites who think people from other races are inferior. This attitude mostly affects the lack people. They are considered the most inferior. During colonization period, the colonies were oppressed and never interacted with their superiors. For example, they used different vehicles and other public facilities. It was an offense to enter a hotel meant for white people. Today, this issue has not yet being eradicated. Some people still have racism and ethnicity. The annoying thing about prejudice is that people discriminate others for no viable reasons. Race and ethnicity happen naturally and no one should be punished for them. They do not determine personality or ability of the person. Therefore, prejudice is not worthy at all[8].

Another issue being reinforced in this book is fight against unfair treatment. The author is against totalitarianism because it brought rise to Nazism, which led to prejudice. Today, there is vigorous campaigns and awareness about human rights. It is even against the constitution to violate anyone’s rights. Most countries have embraced democratic rule and only a few that still believe in dictatorship. According to Arendt, citizens have a right to decide on how they should live. Dictatorship does not give them that opportunity that is why the author is against it[9].

This book is educative by how it reflects on issues. Some of the topics discussed can easily be related by what is happening in the world currently. It can be used to learn about part of history, as it clearly defines it well. A reader will learn a lot about political and social issues that took place, for example, totalitarianism, Nazism and anti-Semitism among others. Though the author may have shown some weaknesses, she has successfully communicated to the readers. Her determination is admirable especially when she faces criticism and other challenges because of her publications. Being a female author and philosopher in an era of prejudice, is a great achievement for her. She freely expressed herself and laid out her facts. Some critics said they do not like that about her personality. This is an indication that there are males who do not believe females have a right of expression. The current generation has a lot to learn from this author because they could borrow a leaf. People agree that she might have done few errors but had most of her facts rights. For this reason, she should always be remembered[10].

Bibliography

Arendt, Hannah. The origin of totalitarianism. New York: Harvest book. 1967.

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