Ideology and terror looks into the machinations of Totalitarian government. Arendt begins by comparing totalitarianism with other forms of political oppression, namely despotism, tyranny and dictatorship. She tries to define what makes a totalitarian government. Describing how it would invariably transform a society’s classes into masses, supplant the party system by mass movements, shifting the centre of power from the army to the police, and establishing a foreign policy almost solely aimed at world domination.
She raises the question as to whether a totalitarian government is established as a temporary solution to whatever crises may be currently afflicting society. And that it borrows many of its features, for example, intimidation, and means of organisation from the political arsenal of despotism tyranny and dictatorship. And only exists due to the missteps of the previous government. Or whether it is a separate entity altogether and can be legitimately compared with these other forms of government. Saying that it must have, at some time, been experienced before in some form wherever men have lived as a body.
The latter, she decides is unlikely as forms of government were established thousands of years ago, classified by the Greeks, and remained relatively unchanged since then. In respect to this, totalitarianism must seem to be a new form of tyranny, in that it exemplifies “a lawless government where power is wielded by one man. Arbitrary power, unrestricted by law, yielded in the interest of the ruler and hostile to the interests of the governed.” these being the general hallmarks of tyranny.
Arendt says that rather than calling totalitarianism unprecedented, it is more of a complete alternative to established governments. It goes against all positive laws, even defying those it has itself established. Here she mentions the soviet union of 1936 (which was never abolished) and the Nazi’s Weimar constitution (which was never revoked). Totalitarian governments, she explains, can operate neither without the guidance of laws, nor arbitrarily. As it claims to obey those laws of History and Nature. From which all positive laws are supposed come from. And which, conveniently enough dictate nothing, and can be endlessly subjective. Without making their policies ‘lawless’. in fact making them borne of the most legitimate authority we know of; and will be more diligent in answering these laws than any other government, and, being defiant of the supposed ‘positive laws’ it can effectively do away with “petty legality.” especially as they now answer to the rule of ‘justice’ rather than ‘legality’, the standards of which are designed for the needs of the individual, not the mass, which totalitarian governments seek to establish.
According to Arendt, totalitarian policy claims to be able to transform mankind into a single mass, which will become an unfailing carrier of law. This can only be achieved through successful domination of the world.
She also differentiates totalitarian government with the civilised world, was broken through the crimes committed under these regimes, and these crimes were committed due to a conscious break of ‘a people’ (consensus iuris) in these times, essentially this is the foundation stone of national and international relations, and to a point, the laws we all share. Totalitarian policy doesn’t replace laws that it demolishes, it does not establish its own form of ‘a people’. it does not create any new legality. It simply promises to fulfil the laws that it abides by. What exactly these are, cannot be said. Only that as a cohesive mass, can justice be embodied.
It should be noted that totalitarian policies are all concerned with movement. And all laws are those of movement. Laws of history or nature have ceased to be the stabilising influence of authority that controls ‘mortal ‘ men, mortal perhaps being an interesting word choice concerning the totalitarian aim of destroying the idea of an individual. Ie a mass without free thought can become immortal in way that a single man cannot. These laws are all concerned with the advancement of mankind. Underlying the Nazi’s belief in the superior races was Darwin’s description of man constantly improving beyond that of today. This is the same as the Bolshevik’s view of class struggle as described by Marx. That any notion of society will be abolished through class struggle.
Previous governments have used positive laws as the only true way to express the difference between right and wrong. In a totalitarian body, positive laws are replaced with terror. Terror ceasing to be solely used for the oppression of any opposition. Terror becomes superlative when there is no opposition. Not because it has ‘won’ anything. But because it has become the essence of totalitarian domination.
At this point terror realises the laws of movement. Unhindering the forces of nature and history by stopping mankind from getting in the way of progress. Under terror, no free action is either permitted or committed. Whether it be in support, or against, the policy. In the same way, guilt and innocence become senseless. The only ‘guilty’ are those who stand in the way of natural and historical movement. Intentionally or not.
Everyone becomes subjectively innocent. Terror executes judgements and the rulers themselves become the executioners. They apply no laws, only comply with the inherent law of movement. Any resemblance to tyranny is lost when it applies no arbitrary laws to hide its true intentions.
As mankind becomes endlessly pressed together, they have no space with which to move (in such a way allowing the movement of laws) as this destroys the capacity for any movement towards uprising or defiance. Arendt describes the “iron band of terror” making out of many, the one will act as the course of history or nature. Accelerating the movement. To the point of helping nature and history, by removing obstacles. Executing death sentences on those whom nature and history has deemed “unfit to live” so as to not have to wait for the processes of evolution. The attempted genocide of the Jews by the Nazis being an example of the attempt to ‘purify’ mankind.
As this system develops further, terror becomes increasingly prevalent throughout society and to such a powerful extent that no practical usefulness can be derived from it. It has no need for men to support it, it does not require men to have convictions about the policy. The aim of this policy is to use terror to destroy the capacity to have convictions and make judgements.
This leaves to types of people in totalitarian governments: the executioners, and the victims. And each are prepared for these outcomes. This is possibly demonstrated by George Orwell’s ‘1984’ which essentially splits society into the inner, and outer parties. The outer being utterly superfluous.
Arendt moves onto the ideology of totalitarian governments. She begins by describing how the first step of this ideology is to create a single process of thought, to be presented to the people. This one idea will be sufficient to explain everything that is needed to be understood. In this way, no other ideas can be processed, and nothing new can be learned.
Arendt describes 3 elements specific to totalitarian ideology:
Firstly, that an ideology explains what becomes, rather than what is. Concentrating once more, on the element of motion.
Secondly, ideological thinking becomes independent from experience. Ie. Nothing new can be learned. Reality becomes separated from ideological thinking. This in turn will produce something of a 6th sense which seems to results in an almost complete paranoia. The capacity to consider anything new of different becomes impossible.
Thirdly, Since changing the physical reality around us is impossible. People perception of reality must be, altered (again 1984. Doublethink: the acceptance of two completely differing ideas. etc).thus adding to terror by introducing a new fear of contradicting oneself.
An incredibly important part of the totalitarian ideology. Is the need of the party to punish crimes, thereby enacting the law of history which knows that crimes will be committed. This results in a need for criminals. Either the truly guilty. Or the innocent which must become guilty for the good of the party. Confession of crimes resulting in the progression of history. Not confessing marking you as a true enemy.
Something which the party must do away with , is any thought of new beginnings that come with the idea of birth. Through its ideology free thought is made difficult, if not impossible, and men are constantly forced towards the goal of a single mass. With which to power the movement. Which, being immortal, negates the idea of life and death.
This will eventually lead to the perfect people for a totalitarian regime. Those who are no longer capable of seeing any divide between fact and fiction, true and false. Something akin to a hive-mind where no one unit has any real control, nor desires it. It becomes a shell prepared for domination by totalitarianism by the sheer fact of loneliness that exists in the masses prevalent even outside of the totalitarian world.
Totalitarian domination, Arendt says, could never establish a permanent world. Like tyranny, it bears the germs of its on destruction in the principle of the destructive nature within all mankind. She does recognise, however, that organised loneliness is much more dangerous (to society as we know it) than unorganised impotence, often the result of tyranny.
While it may be true that totalitarian rule could not last. It may be wishful thinking to assume that it would leave any recognisable trace of humanity or its society. The very nature of totalitarian government is to eradicate opposition. And if it was to last long enough. It is possible that no other form of government would be remembered and we would have to revert either back to totalitarianism. Or start again from scratch. Neither being acceptable. At least at this time.
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