Totalitarian Government Bad

1150 Words3 Pages

The Good and Bad in the World
(A discussion on totalitarian governments today) Everywhere we look, there is good and bad; without one, we can’t fully appreciate the other. Black balances out white, good balances out bad, etc. This is seen throughout the world in people, places, and even in governments. When looking at negative governments, totalitarianism is commonly thought of. Totalitarianism is the concept where the state has total authority over a society and holds control of all aspects of life. This type of governments is introduced to us through Hannah Arendt’s work. Arendt was born and educated in Germany. She was a very influential writer as many of her works discussed topics of government, moral values, modern society, and …show more content…

The leader of a totalitarian government needs to have immense power and followers that are loyal to him, Bin Laden had this. He formed Al-Qaeda in the early 90’s, ran terrorist training camps, and then later received protection from the Taliban-controlled government. He had the power and knowledge to run the country. He not only had control over his country, but also of dozens around the world. Hannah Arendt discusses in her work some of the characteristics of a leader in a totalitarian government. One of the main goals of this leader is world domination. Although it may sound childish, the leader looks to gain control over not only his own country, but of countries around the world. Jeffrey D. McCausland is quoted saying, “Bin Laden owes his ability to establish terrorist cells in more than 60 countries to the technologies that symbolize the emerging global environment…he spread his ideas through the global media,” (McCausland). From this quote, we understand that a leader of a totalitarian government, like the one in Iraq, ultimately wants to gain control over several countries, but also needs to know how to do so. We are living in a time where everything is communicated through the media, and the use of this media to gain control over countries proves …show more content…

Gaining control of your country, and other countries, is only part of totalitarianism; keeping that control is important if you want to stay in power. Arendt discusses with her audience what lies behind ideology and how groups, like Al-Qaeda, obtain what they are looking for. In an article, written by Young-Bruehl, Elisabeth, Kohn and Jerome, the authors discuss ideology and interpret what Hannah Arendt was saying in her work of The Origins of Totalitarianism. “Comparable to what a principle of action is in other forms of government… in Arendt's terms, the basic, the fundamental untruth of such a regime, expressing its contempt for the factuality of the world,” (Young-Bruehl, Elisabeth, Kohn, Jerome). From this excerpt, it is understood that the people who are governed by an ideology are set out of fulfilling what their leader instructs. For instance, in the past ideologists have been obsessed with ridding the world of a certain race or religion of people. In Iraq, the ideology is a little bit different, their focus deals with terrorism. As stated earlier, the main goal of totalitarianism is to gain control, usually globally. For this to happen, the faithful followers of the leader will do whatever it takes to make this happen, in this case terrorism. George P. Schultz, in his article, discusses the repercussions of terrorism, “When terrorism succeeds in intimidating governments into altering their foreign

Open Document