Authoritarianism and totalitarianism

DEFINITION OF THE TERM: There are many types of authoritarianism and totalitarianism, but they are most commonly associated with non-democratic systems. Authoritarianism restricts freedoms in the public sphere, while totalitarianism extends political control to all aspects of social and individual existence, including privacy. HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE TERM: Totalitarianism is a 20th-century phenomenon whose concept and scope relates to regimes that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, in post-World War I Europe. Empirical psychological studies of authoritarianism began during this period and intensified from the 1950s onwards. These studies go beyond mere ‘historical reconstruction’ by revealing the complexity of the phenomena and processes crucial to understanding 20th-century history. DISCUSSION OF THE TERM: Attempts to explain totalitarianism typically reference two classical theories: political and anthropological. The former interprets totalitarianism as an ideologically driven system of institutions controlled by a single party using terror to maintain subservience, while the latter views totalitarianism as the result of specific human predispositions that manifest in particular historical and social circumstances, leading to enslavement. SYSTEMATIC REFLECTION WITH CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: A democratic heritage does not automatically safeguard against tyranny. The knowledge gained through past experiences should prompt reflection on the current reality and defend against loss of values, because the ‘human soul’ has not freed itself from totalitarian temptations, which remain as alive today as they were a century ago.