The Origins Of Totalitarianism

Hannah Arendt

Mar 1973 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

Hannah Arendt's definitive work on totalitarianism—an essential component of any study of twentieth-century political history.

The Origins of Totalitarianism begins with the rise of anti-Semitism in central and western Europe in the 1800s and continues with an examination of European colonial imperialism from 1884 to the outbreak of World War I. Arendt explores the institutions and operations of totalitarian movements, focusing on the two genuine forms of totalitarian government in our time—Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia—which she adroitly recognizes were two sides of the same coin, rather than opposing philosophies of Right and Left. From this vantage point, she discusses the evolution of classes into masses, the role of propaganda in dealing with the nontotalitarian world, the use of terror, and the nature of isolation and loneliness as preconditions for total domination.

Ratings and reviews

The book, densely packed with information, provides a thorough examination of the thoughts and processes that have driven totalitarianism in a historic context. An excellent text for establishing a fundamental understanding of how such regimes operate and sustain themselves.

Using Google Play books is a poor experience compared to the simple robustness of Amazon. My book switched to an amber background but wouldn't switch back. Notes and bookmarks are also not working.

unfocused, imprecise, often incomprehensible and indulges in compulsive both-siderism

About the author

Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) is considered one of the most important and influential thinkers of the twentieth century. A political theorist and philosopher, she is also the author of Crises of the Republic, On Violence, The Life of the Mind, and Men in Dark Times. The Origins of Totalitarianism was first published in 1951.