Totalitarian regimes and their main features. Characteristics and signs of a totalitarian regime

For all its complexity and multi-vector nature, the totalitarian regime has a fairly clear set of basic characteristic features, the most important features that reflect the essence of this regime. These characteristics include the following:

1. Totalitarianism always has very serious problems withlegitimacy of power. A totalitarian regime is never established as a result of free, fair elections. The establishment of totalitarianism is usually preceded by revolutions, coups d'etat, riots, putschs, usurpation of power, etc. Thus, the totalitarian regime does not receive the mandate of the people and therefore cannot be considered legitimate.

2. There is an absolute alienation of the overwhelming majority of the population from the opportunity not only to form power, but also to influence power and control the state. As a result of this, the state receives at its disposal almost absolute, unlimited power over the people. This leads to a general, total bureaucratization of all processes and relations in society and their strict regulation by the state, civil society is completely destroyed, there is a complete nationalization of not only the political sphere, not only social and economic relations, but also scientific, cultural, everyday, interpersonal , marriage, family and all other relationships. The government establishes the most severe control over literature and art, instills a new, state morality and morality in society.

3. The logical conclusion of total state control over the country is the nationalization of the individual, the transformation of citizens of a totalitarian society into state serfs or state slaves. Developed totalitarianism most often establishes not only actual, but even formal and legal personal dependence of citizens on the state. A totalitarian state needs this to recreate a system that would make it possible to forcibly confiscate the labor force of citizens in favor of the state using direct non-economic coercion.

4. In order to ensure such exploitation of citizens, the state will create an organized system of internal terror of the authorities against their own people. To ensure the solution of this problem, the authorities are creating in the country an atmosphere of general suspicion, distrust, total surveillance of citizens of each other, an atmosphere of general denunciation. This is fueled by an artificially fueled atmosphere of spy mania, the search for numerous internal and external enemies, the creation in the public consciousness of the idea of ​​an allegedly constantly existing threat to the country from outside, the creation of an atmosphere of a besieged camp, which in turn requires increased militarization of public life, militarization of the economy, increasing the degree of its penetration into all public and government organizations.

5. In this situation, the legal system is virtually disappearing in the country. Instead, a system of legislative acts is created, as well as secret subordinate directives, decrees, etc., equal in importance (or even superior to them), which no longer reflects the rules of law, but the political will of power structures or even individual leaders. The application of laws is not universal, and the government, not bound by any rules of law, can apply laws at its own discretion.

On the basis of such a system of legislation, institutions of extrajudicial reprisal of the state against citizens are often created, special or emergency courts are created, etc., which receive the right to decide the fate of people at their own discretion. A citizen of a totalitarian society can be condemned not only for what he has done, but also for the fact that he may have intended to do something reprehensible from the point of view of the authorities, as well as for his social origin, property status, ideological beliefs, family or friendly ties and so on.

6. In the political system of a totalitarian system, all supreme power is concentrated in the hands of the leader and his immediate circle. The practical implementation of the directives of the highest political leadership is carried out by the party-state bureaucracy, which in its activities is guided not by laws, but primarily by secret circulars, decrees, resolutions, and decisions of higher state and party authorities. In a totalitarian state, the principle of separation of powers is completely absent.

7. A totalitarian regime is characterized by the existence of one undivided ruling political party. Thanks to the rigid system of the production-territorial principle of functioning and structure, this political party covers the entire country, permeates, with the help of primary party organizations, all state and public structures, all enterprises, the education system, health care, culture, etc.

By creating a large party bureaucratic apparatus and gaining total control over personnel policy, such a political party merges with the state, rises above it, and becomes above laws, society, and morality. This creates an ideal environment for numerous abuses of power and money, to create a system of general and total corruption. There is no legal political opposition in the country; power is based on violence or the constant threat of violence. One of the pillars of power is the systemic duping of citizens, total brainwashing.

8. A characteristic feature of a totalitarian regime is the creation of a cult of the leader’s personality, inflating this cult to hypertrophied proportions, transforming the leader’s personality into the likeness of a demigod.

9. Politicization and ideologization of all processes and relations in society, economic, social, cultural, scientific, everyday, interpersonal, marriage and family, etc.

10. The power of a totalitarian regime in its social policy strives to implement the principle of “divide and conquer”. For this purpose, society is divided into “historically progressive” and “historically reactionary” classes and social groups that are potentially dangerous to society. The result of such social policy is the opposition of some social groups to others (based on national, ethnic, religious, social characteristics, property status, etc.).

11. The most importantcharacteristic of a totalitarian regimeis the creation and inculcation of a special type of totalitarian mass consciousness. It is based on the identification of the type of state power and society, complete disregard for individual rights and freedoms of the individual and their conscious subordination to the interests of various types of collective, the desire to unite the entire society around some higher idea, to present the entire people as some kind of single collective whole, united by the single will of a monolithic a state led by a wise leader and an infallible ruling party, which has a monopoly on the highest truth “in the final instance.”

This entails extreme intolerance towards any forms of dissent and reprisals against any carriers of such dissent. Its political and state system is declared to be the only correct one, the salvation of all humanity, which “unreasonably” resists its integration into the system of totalitarian values. An arrogant-condescending or hostile-suspicious attitude towards everything foreign is asserted due to the self-isolation of a totalitarian society from the outside world, closedness, from world civilization.

12. The economic system of a totalitarian society is based on the comprehensive dominance of state property, which operates in the regime of a rigid planned economic system. Methods of direct state violence against non-state producers are widely used, inadequate wages for employees or completely free appropriation of labor by the state prevail.

Which reflects the relationship between government and society, the level of political freedom and the nature of political life in the country.

In many ways, these characteristics are determined by specific traditions, culture, and historical conditions for the development of the state, so we can say that each country has its own unique political regime. However, similar features can be found among many regimes in different countries.

In the scientific literature there are two types of political regime:

• democratic;
• antidemocratic.

Signs of a democratic regime:

• rule of law;
• separation of powers;
• the presence of real political and social rights and freedoms of citizens;
• election of government bodies;
• existence of opposition and pluralism.

Signs of an anti-democratic regime:

• reign of lawlessness and terror;
• lack of political pluralism;
• absence of opposition parties;

An anti-democratic regime is divided into totalitarian and authoritarian. Therefore, we will consider the characteristics of three political regimes: totalitarian, authoritarian and democratic.

Democratic regime based on the principles of equality and freedom; The main source of power here is the people. At authoritarian regime political power is concentrated in the hands of an individual or group of people, but relative freedom is maintained outside the sphere of politics. At totalitarian regime The authorities tightly control all spheres of society.

Typology of political regimes:

Characteristics of political regimes

Democratic regime(from the Greek demokratia - democracy) is based on the recognition of the people as the main source of power, on the principles of equality and freedom. The signs of democracy are as follows:

• electivity - citizens are elected to government bodies through universal, equal and direct elections;
• separation of powers - power is divided into legislative, executive and judicial branches, independent of each other;
• civil society - citizens can influence the authorities with the help of a developed network of voluntary public organizations;
• equality - everyone has equal civil and political rights
• rights and freedoms, as well as guarantees for their protection;
• pluralism— respect for other people’s opinions and ideologies, including opposition ones, prevails, complete openness and freedom of the press from censorship are ensured;
• agreement - political and other social relations are aimed at finding a compromise, and not at a violent solution to the problem; all conflicts are resolved legally.

Democracy is direct and representative. At direct democracy decisions are made directly by all citizens who have the right to vote. There was direct democracy, for example, in Athens, in the Novgorod Republic, where people, gathering in the square, made a common decision on every problem. Now direct democracy is implemented, as a rule, in the form of a referendum - a popular vote on draft laws and important issues of national importance. For example, the current Constitution of the Russian Federation was adopted in a referendum on December 12, 1993.

In a large area, direct democracy is too difficult to implement. Therefore, government decisions are made by special elected institutions. This kind of democracy is called representative, since the elected body (for example, the State Duma) represents the people who elected it.

Authoritarian regime(from the Greek autocritas - power) arises when power is concentrated in the hands of an individual or group of people. Authoritarianism is usually combined with dictatorship. Political opposition is impossible under authoritarianism, but in non-political spheres, such as economics, culture or private life, individual autonomy and relative freedom are preserved.

Totalitarian regime(from Latin totalis - whole, whole) arises when all spheres of society are controlled by the authorities. Power under a totalitarian regime is monopolized (by the party, the leader, the dictator), a single ideology is obligatory for all citizens. The absence of any dissent is ensured by a powerful apparatus of supervision and control, police repression, and acts of intimidation. A totalitarian regime creates a lack of initiative personality, prone to submission.

Totalitarian political regime

Totalitarian political regime- this is a regime of “all-consuming power” that endlessly interferes in the lives of citizens, including all their activities within the scope of its management and compulsory regulation.

Signs of a totalitarian political regime:

1. Availabilitythe only mass party led by a charismatic leader, as well as a virtual merger of party and government structures. This is a kind of “-”, where the central party apparatus is in first place in the power hierarchy, and the state acts as a means of implementing the party program;

2. Monopolizationand centralization of power, when such political values ​​as submission and loyalty to the “party-state” are primary in comparison with material, religious, aesthetic values ​​in the motivation and assessment of human actions. Within the framework of this regime, the line between political and non-political spheres of life disappears (“the country as a single camp”). All life activities, including the level of private and personal life, are strictly regulated. The formation of government bodies at all levels is carried out through closed channels, bureaucratic means;

3. "Unity"official ideology, which through massive and targeted indoctrination (media, training, propaganda) is imposed on society as the only correct, true way of thinking. At the same time, the emphasis is not on individual, but on “cathedral” values ​​(state, race, nation, class, clan). The spiritual atmosphere of society is distinguished by fanatical intolerance of dissent and “dissent” according to the principle “those who are not with us are against us”;

4. Systemphysical and psychological terror, a police state regime, where the basic “legal” principle is dominated by the principle: “Only what is ordered by the authorities is allowed, everything else is prohibited.”

Totalitarian regimes traditionally include communist and fascist regimes.

Authoritarian political regime

The main features of an authoritarian regime:

1. INpower is unlimited, uncontrollable by citizens character and is concentrated in the hands of one person or group of persons. This could be a tyrant, a military junta, a monarch, etc.;

2. Support(potential or real) on strength. An authoritarian regime may not resort to mass repression and may even be popular among the general population. However, in principle, he can allow himself any actions towards citizens in order to force them to obey;

3. Mmonopolization of power and politics, preventing political opposition and independent legal political activity. This circumstance does not exclude the existence of a limited number of parties, trade unions and some other organizations, but their activities are strictly regulated and controlled by the authorities;

4. PRecruitment of leading cadres is carried out through co-optation rather than pre-election competitive struggle; There are no constitutional mechanisms for succession and transfer of power. Changes in power often occur through coups using armed forces and violence;

5. ABOUTrefusal of total control over society, non-interference or limited intervention in non-political spheres, and, above all, in the economy. The government is primarily concerned with issues of ensuring its own security, public order, defense and foreign policy, although it can also influence the strategy of economic development and pursue an active social policy without destroying the mechanisms of market self-regulation.

Authoritarian regimes can be divided into strictly authoritarian, moderate and liberal. There are also types such as "populist authoritarianism", based on equalizingly oriented masses, as well as "national-patriotic", in which the national idea is used by the authorities to create either a totalitarian or democratic society, etc.

Authoritarian regimes include:

• absolute and dualistic monarchies;
• military dictatorships, or regimes with military rule;
• theocracy;
• personal tyrannies.

Democratic political regime

Democratic regime is a regime in which power is exercised by a freely expressing majority. Democracy translated from Greek literally means “power of the people” or “democracy”.

Basic principles of a democratic regime of government:

1. Folksovereignty, i.e. The primary bearer of power is the people. All power is from the people and is delegated to them. This principle does not imply that political decisions are made directly by the people, as, for example, in a referendum. He only assumes that all bearers of state power received their power functions thanks to the people, i.e. directly through elections (deputies of parliament or the president) or indirectly through representatives elected by the people (a government formed and subordinate to parliament);

2. Free elections representatives of government, which presuppose the presence of at least three conditions: freedom to nominate candidates as a consequence of freedom of education and functioning; freedom of suffrage, i.e. universal and equal suffrage on the principle of “one person, one vote”; freedom of voting, perceived as a means of secret voting and equality for all in receiving information and the opportunity to conduct propaganda during the election campaign;

3. Subordination of the minority to the majority with strict respect for the rights of the minority. The main and natural duty of the majority in a democracy is respect for the opposition, its right to free criticism and the right to replace, based on the results of new elections, the former majority in power;

4. Implementationprinciple of separation of powers. The three branches of government - legislative, executive and judicial - have such powers and such practice that the two “corners” of this unique “triangle”, if necessary, can block the undemocratic actions of the third “corner” that are contrary to the interests of the nation. The absence of a monopoly on power and the pluralistic nature of all political institutions are a necessary condition for democracy;

5. Constitutionalismand the rule of law in all spheres of life. The law prevails regardless of the person; everyone is equal before the law. Hence the “frigidity”, “coldness” of democracy, i.e. she is rational. Legal principle of democracy: "Everything that is not prohibited by law,- allowed."

Democratic regimes include:

• presidential republics;
• parliamentary republics;
• parliamentary monarchies.

Ministry of Economic Development and Trade

Russian Federation

Russian State Trade and Trade

the University of Economics

Krasnodar branch

Department of Humanitarian Disciplines

Examination on the discipline:

"Political science"

Krasnodar 2010

Introduction______________________________________________________________3

The concept and origins of a totalitarian political regime._______4

Characteristic features and types of totalitarianism.____________9

Conclusion.________________________________________________________________________________17

Used literature._____________________________________________18

Introduction.

Authoritarianism and totalitarianism are two models of a dictatorial-type political regime, between which there are significant differences in a number of fundamental characteristics. If totalitarianism presupposes the complete subordination of all spheres of life to the state, then the authoritarian regime as a whole leaves to the discretion of private individuals the issues of religious faith, economic activity, family life, etc., if this does not contradict the interests of preserving the existing system. In other words, authoritarianism occupies an intermediate position between totalitarianism and democracy. What it has in common with totalitarianism is the autocratic nature of power, not limited by laws, and with democracy - the presence of autonomous public spheres not regulated by the state, and the preservation of elements of civil society. In the 20th century For the purpose of legitimation, nationalist ideology and formal, government-controlled elections are widely used. In the last decade, after the collapse of totalitarian regimes in the USSR and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, interest in totalitarianism has grown significantly. Attempts to introduce democracy and create civil society in Russia were not successful, but on the contrary, led to colossal destructive consequences and numerous victims. At the same time, a number of countries with authoritarian regimes have demonstrated their economic and social efficiency, proven their ability to combine economic prosperity with political stability, strong power with a free economy, personal security and relatively developed social pluralism. Among such countries we should mention China, Chile, South Korea, Vietnam, etc. Authoritarianism is often defined as a method of government with limited pluralism. Its impact on social development has both strengths and weaknesses. Weaknesses include the complete dependence of politics on the head of state or a group of senior leaders, and the limited institutions for the articulation of public interests. At the same time, an authoritarian regime also has its advantages, which are especially noticeable in extreme situations. Authoritarian power has a high ability to ensure political stability and public order, mobilize public resources to solve certain problems, and overcome the resistance of political opponents. All this makes it an effective means of carrying out radical social reforms. Therefore, in modern conditions of post-socialist countries, the most optimal would be a combination of authoritarian and democratic elements, strong power and its controllability by society. An authoritarian regime that sets itself the task of democratizing society cannot be durable. Its real prospect is a type of political regime that is more stable in modern conditions - democracy.

1. The concept and origins of a totalitarian political regime.

“Totalitarianism (from the Latin totalis – whole, whole, complete) is one of the types of political regimes, characterized by complete (total) state control over all spheres of society.” “The first totalitarian regimes were formed after the First World War in countries that belonged to the “second echelon of industrial development.” Italy and Germany were extremely totalitarian states. The formation of political totalitarian regimes became possible at the industrial stage of human development, when not only comprehensive control over an individual, but also total control of his consciousness, especially during periods of socio-economic crises, became technically possible.”

Firstly, the concept of “totalitarianism,” as we know, first appeared in Western sociology and political science (the liberals D. Amendola and P. Gabetti were the first to use it in the early 20s of our century to condemn the anti-democratic features of the fascist political regime approved by Mussolini’s Blackshirts in Italy; later this concept was applied to the Nazi regime of Hitler in Germany), and due to this origin, from the very beginning it acquired a negatively condemnatory character and became a designation for extremely undemocratic political orders. Naturally, the first attempts of Western publicists and political scientists of the 20s and 30s to apply this concept to the Soviet regime were met with hostility by the Soviet leadership and ideologists of communism. The problem of the applicability or inapplicability of this concept to the USSR was not only not discussed among us at that time, but its very formulation was considered blasphemous.

Secondly, the joint anti-fascist struggle of the USSR and Western democracies against the Axis states in the Second World War was a serious obstacle to bourgeois-democratic attempts to portray the Stalinist regime as a totalitarian one, to transfer the negative characteristics of their military opponents (Germany and Italy) to the regime of their successful an ally who fought against fascism - on the USSR. This also determined the fact that in the left (communist) movement the concept of “totalitarianism” in relation to the USSR was used only by L. Trotsky.”

Thirdly, a very important ideological and political stimulus for the elimination of previous obstacles and the widespread use of the concept of “totalitarianism” in relation not only to fascist regimes, but also to Stalin’s power in the USSR, to regimes in other countries of “real socialism” was the development that unfolded after 1945 year, the “Cold War”, which contributed not only to the acute ideological confrontation between “socialism” and “capitalism” using any “available means”, but also led to the direct (without necessary clarification) overturning on the “communist regimes” those characteristics of totalitarianism that had formed on the foundation analysis of fascist orders.

Fourthly, the nature of “Gorbachev’s perestroika,” which included significant elements of denigration of the “socialist past,” the failure of this perestroika and the rise to power of bourgeois anti-Soviet democrats, led in Russia by Boris Yeltsin, opened the floodgates wide for journalists, first and then many, but by no means all, social scientists, without any serious analysis of the essence of totalitarianism and the applicability of this concept to the conditions of the Soviet Union and contrary to the calls of the “classics” of the theory of totalitarianism - to use this concept in a balanced way - began to use it in practice and idlely , characterizing violations of democracy by any leftist government - from V. Lenin to A. Lukashenko. This term should not be considered only as negatively evaluative. This is a scientific concept that requires an appropriate theoretical definition. Initially, the concept of “total state” had a completely positive meaning. It denoted a self-organizing state, identical with a nation, a state where the gap between political and socio-political factors is eliminated. The current interpretation of the concept is first proposed to characterize fascism. Then it was extended to the Soviet and related models of the state. In public administration, a totalitarian regime is characterized by extreme centralism. In practice, management looks like the execution of commands from above, in which initiative is not actually encouraged at all, but is strictly punished. Local authorities and administrations become simple transmitters of commands. The characteristics of regions (economic, national, cultural, social, religious, etc.) are, as a rule, not taken into account.

“The ideological origins and individual features of totalitarianism go back to antiquity. Initially, it was interpreted as a principle for building an integral, united society. In the VII-IV centuries. BC e. theorists of rationalization of Chinese political and legal thought (legists) Zi Chan, Shang Yang, Han Fei and others, rejecting Confucianism, advocated the doctrine of a strong, centralized state regulating all aspects of public and private life. Including the endowment of the administrative apparatus with economic functions, the establishment of mutual responsibility among the population and the bureaucracy (along with the principle of official responsibility for their affairs), systematic state control over the behavior and state of mind of citizens, etc. At the same time, they viewed state control as a constant struggle between the ruler and his subjects. Central to the program of the legalists was the desire to strengthen the state by developing agriculture, building a strong army capable of expanding the borders of the country, and stupefying the people.”

Plato proposed the type of totalitarian state regime close to the legalists of China. “The dialogue “State” contains the famous project of an “ideal social system” based on the principles of collective property of the ruling classes. In his later dialogues (“Polity”, “Laws”), the socio-economic characteristics of a second, more perfect and different from the Athenian society depicted in the “State” are drawn. Plato endowed his second most dignified state with the following features: unconditional subordination of all citizens and each individual individually to the state; state ownership of land, residential buildings and cultural buildings, which were used by citizens on the basis of ownership, and not private property; planting collectivist principles and unanimity in everyday life; state regulation of children's upbringing laws; a common religion for all fellow citizens, political and legal equality of women with men, excluding holding positions in the highest bodies of power.” Plato's law prohibited persons under 40 years of age from traveling outside the state on private matters and limited the entry of foreigners; provided for the cleansing of society from unwanted persons through the death penalty or expulsion from the country. Plato's model of government regime is unacceptable for most modern countries. The concept of a totalitarian regime was developed in the works of a number of German thinkers of the 19th century: G. Hegel, K. Marx, F. Nietzsche and some other authors. And, nevertheless, as a complete, formalized political phenomenon, totalitarianism matured in the first half of the 20th century, thus, we can say that the totalitarian regime is a product of the 20th century. It was first given political significance by the leaders of the fascist movement in Italy. In 1925, Benito Mussolini was the first to coin the term “totalitarianism” to describe the Italo-fascist regime. “The Western concept of totalitarianism, including the directions of its critics, was formed on the basis of an analysis and generalization of the regimes of fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, Francoist Spain and the USSR during the years of Stalinism. After the First World War, China and the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe became the subject of additional study of political regimes.” This is not a complete list, indicating that totalitarian regimes can arise on different socio-economic bases and in diverse cultural and ideological environments. They can be a consequence of military defeats or revolutions, appear as a result of internal contradictions, or be imposed from the outside. Although totalitarianism is called an extreme form of authoritarianism, there are signs that are particularly characteristic only of totalitarianism and distinguish all totalitarian state regimes from authoritarianism and democracy. I consider the following signs to be the most important:

• general state ideology,
• state monopoly on the media,
• state monopoly on all weapons,
• strictly centralized control over the economy,
• one mass party led by a charismatic leader, that is, exceptionally gifted and endowed with a special gift,
• a specially organized system of violence as a specific means of control in society;

Some of the above features of one or another totalitarian state regime developed, as already noted, in ancient times. But most of them could not be fully formed in pre-industrial society. Only in the 20th century. they acquired qualities of a universal nature and together made it possible for the dictators who came to power in Italy in the 20s, in Germany and the Soviet Union in the 30s, to transform the political regimes of power into totalitarian ones. Essential features of totalitarianism are revealed when comparing it with an authoritarian regime. One-party system cannot serve as a sufficient criterion, since it also occurs under authoritarianism. The essence of the differences lies, first of all, in the relationship of the state with society. If under authoritarianism a certain autonomy of society in relation to the state is preserved, then under totalitarianism it is ignored and rejected. The state strives for global dominance over all spheres of public life. Pluralism is being eliminated from socio-political life. Social and class barriers are violently demonstrated. The authorities claim to represent a certain universal “super-interest” of the population, in which social group, class, ethnic, professional and regional interests disappear and become depersonalized. The total alienation of the individual from power is affirmed. Consequently, totalitarianism forcibly removes the problems: civil society - state, people - political power. “The state completely identifies itself with society, depriving it of its social functions of self-regulation and self-development.” Hence the peculiarities of the organization of a totalitarian system of state power:

• global centralization of public power headed by a dictator;
• the dominance of repressive apparatuses;
• abolition of representative bodies of government;
• the monopoly of the ruling party and the integration of it and all other socio-political organizations directly into the system of state power.

“The legitimation of power is based on direct violence, state ideology and the personal commitment of citizens to the leader, political leader (charisma). Truth and personal freedom are virtually absent. A very important feature of totalitarianism is its social base and the specificity of the ruling elites determined by it. According to many researchers of Marxist and other orientations, totalitarian regimes arise on the basis of the antagonism of the middle classes and even the broad masses in relation to the previously dominant oligarchy.” The center of a totalitarian system is the leader. His actual position is sacralized. He is declared to be the wisest, infallible, fair, tirelessly thinking about the good of the people. Any critical attitude towards him is suppressed. Typically, charismatic individuals are nominated for this role. In accordance with the guidelines of totalitarian regimes, all citizens were called upon to express support for the official state ideology and spend time studying it. Dissent and the emergence of scientific thought from the official ideology were persecuted. In a totalitarian regime, its political party plays a special role. Only one party has lifelong ruling status, acts either in the singular, or “heads” a bloc of parties or other political forces, the existence of which is permitted by the regime. Such a party, as a rule, is created before the emergence of the regime itself and plays a decisive role in its establishment - in that one day it comes to power. At the same time, her coming to power does not necessarily occur through violent measures. For example, the Nazis in Germany came to power entirely through parliamentary means, after the appointment of their leader A. Hitler to the post of Reich Chancellor. Having come to power, such a party becomes a state party. The ruling party is declared the leading force in society, its guidelines are considered sacred dogmas. Competing ideas about the social reorganization of society are declared anti-national, aimed at undermining the foundations of society and inciting social hostility. The ruling party seizes the reins of government: the party and state apparatuses are merging. As a result of this, the simultaneous holding of party and state positions becomes a widespread phenomenon, and where this does not happen, state officials carry out direct instructions from persons holding party positions. The specific features of a totalitarian regime are organized terror and total control, used to ensure the adherence of the masses to party ideology. The secret police and security apparatus uses extreme methods of influence to force society to live in a state of fear. In such states, constitutional guarantees either did not exist or were violated, as a result of which secret arrests, detention of people without charge and the use of torture became possible. In addition, the totalitarian regime encourages and widely uses denunciation, flavoring it with a “great idea,” for example, the fight against the enemies of the people. The search and imaginary machinations of enemies become a condition for the existence of a totalitarian regime. It is to the “enemies”, “saboteurs” that mistakes, economic troubles, and impoverishment of the population are attributed. Such bodies were the NKVD in the USSR, the Gestapo in Germany. Such bodies were not subject to any legal or judicial restrictions. To achieve their goals, these bodies could do whatever they wanted. Their actions were directed by the authorities not only against individual citizens, but also against entire peoples and classes. The mass extermination of entire populations during the times of Hitler and Stalin shows the enormous power of the state and the helplessness of ordinary citizens.

In addition, an important feature for totalitarian regimes is the government’s monopoly on information and complete control over the media.

Strict centralized control over the economy is an important feature of a totalitarian regime. Here control serves a dual purpose. Firstly, the ability to control the productive forces of society creates the material base and support necessary for the political regime, without which totalitarian control in other areas is hardly possible. Secondly, the centralized economy serves as a means of political control. For example, people can be forcibly moved to work in those areas of the national economy where there is a shortage of labor. Militarization is also one of the main characteristics of a totalitarian regime. The idea of ​​a military danger, of a “besieged fortress” becomes necessary, firstly, to unite society, to build it on the principle of a military camp. A totalitarian regime is aggressive in its essence and aggression helps to achieve several goals at once: to distract the people from their disastrous economic situation, to enrich the bureaucracy and the ruling elite, to solve geopolitical problems by military means. Aggression under a totalitarian regime can also be fueled by the idea of ​​world domination, world revolution. The military-industrial complex and the army are the main pillars of totalitarianism. Left-wing political regimes used various programs to encourage workers to work intensively to increase labor productivity in the economy. The Soviet Five-Year Plans and the economic reforms in China are examples of the mobilization of the labor efforts of the peoples of these countries, and their results cannot be denied. “Right-radical totalitarian regimes in Italy and Germany solved the problem of total control over the economy and other spheres of life using different methods. In Hitler’s Germany and fascist Italy, they did not resort to nationalization of the entire economy, but introduced their own effective methods and forms of party-state control over private and joint-stock businesses, as well as over trade unions and over the spiritual sphere of production.” Right-wing totalitarian regimes with a right-wing bias first appeared in industrialized countries, but with relatively undeveloped democratic traditions. Italian fascism built its model of society on a corporate-state basis, and German National Socialism on a racial-ethnic basis. Right-wing totalitarianism aims to strengthen the existing order in a liberal society without radically breaking it, by exalting the role of the state, abolishing individual social institutions and elements, just as Hitler made every effort to destroy communists, social democrats and Jews living in Germany, Gypsy; create some new “pure” society. A variety of totalitarianism are regimes where a “cult of personality” is carried out, the cult of a leader - infallible, wise, caring. In fact, it turns out that this is only a form of government in which the power-hungry, sometimes pathological ambitions of certain political leaders are realized. Under totalitarianism, the state takes upon itself the care of every member of society. Members of society believe that the state should ensure that they are supported and protected in all cases, especially in the field of healthcare, education, and housing. However, the social price for this method of exercising power increases over time (wars, destruction of motivation to work, coercion, terror, demographic and environmental losses, as well as other problems), which ultimately leads to the awareness of the harmfulness of the totalitarian regime, the need for it liquidation. Then the evolution of the totalitarian regime begins. The pace and forms of this evolution (up to destruction) depend on socio-economic changes and the corresponding increase in people, political struggle, as well as other factors. The situation in the world community at the end of the 20th century indicates that anti-democratic regimes have historically and politically outlived their usefulness. The world must move to democracy as a more necessary political regime. There was already an example in the 20th century when the contradictions between two totalitarian regimes led to war.

2. Characteristic features and types of totalitarianism.

Totalitarian systems include systems that are characterized by complete state control over the individual, radical transformations of the entire social system in accordance with a revolutionary social utopia, which leaves no room for either individual freedom or social freedom. contradictions. Totalitarian regime. There is no totalitarian regime in its pure form. Origin from lat. sl. “totalis” – whole, complete, entire. This regime is characterized by the fact that all power is concentrated in the hands of one group, the absence of demogr. freedoms, the possibility of the emergence of water. opposition, i.e. This is the cat mode. The ruling elite has completely subordinated the life of society to its interests and will maintain power through violence.

There are 3 main types: a) religious. totalitarianism, b) political. totalitarianism, c) information and financial. Religious arose in the Middle Ages. The bearer was the religion. institutes, cat. introduced religions into people's consciousness. ideology and controlled it (the Jesuit Order). In Paraguay in the 17th century. There was an entire Jesuit state. Elements of totalitarianism b. in Protestantism and Catholicism. In modern conditions of religion. totalitarianism also exists, but it is more pronounced and political. totalitarianism.

Characteristic features of totalitarianism:

1. the government controls all areas of human activity.

2. formation of power under total. regime is carried out in a bureaucratic way through channels closed to society. Power is surrounded by a halo of secrecy and is inaccessible from society.

3. people's attitude to power: society is alienated from power, but does not realize it.

4. the role of ideology in society - universal regulation of life is carried out. Ideology begins to resemble a form of religion.

5. The leader is always charismatic, relies on the party and group.

democracy.

6. everything is prohibited except what is ordered and permitted.

7. The government exercises complete control over all media.

8. democratic freedoms and rights are formal in nature. The state carries out certain social functions.

9. With total mode there is a certain social. structure of society. Means. Some citizens are alienated from property. Dream. the share of ownership is concentrated in one hand (oligarchy).

10. There is a merger of extinguishers. apparatus with the apparatus of ruling parties and societies. organizations.

The development of the media, informatization and computerization make it possible to control mass consciousness. Ch. in totalitarianism - to cause mass fear, to use physical violence and illusory

Varieties:

Along with the commonality of fundamental institutional features, totalitarian political systems also have significant features, which allows us to identify several of their most important varieties. Depending on the dominant ideology influencing the content of political activity, they are usually divided into communism, fascism and national socialism.

Historically, the first and classical form of totalitarianism was communism (socialism) of the Soviet type, which began with the military-communist system, which was generally formed in 1918. Communist totalitarianism, to a greater extent than other varieties, expresses the main features of this system, since it involves the complete elimination private property and, therefore, all personal autonomy, the absolute power of the state. And yet, the characterization of Soviet-type socialism as totalitarianism is one-sided and does not reveal the content and goals of politics in this type of society. The second type of totalitarian political systems is fascism. It was first established in Italy in 1922 1. Here the totalitarian features were not fully expressed. Italian fascism gravitated not so much towards the radical construction of a new society, but rather towards the revival of the Italian nation and the greatness of the Roman Empire, the establishment of order and firm state power. Fascism claims to restore or purify the “people's soul”, ensure collective identity on cultural or ethnic grounds, and eliminate mass crime. In Italy, the boundaries of fascist totalitarianism were set by the position of the most influential circles in the state: the king, the aristocracy, the officer corps and the church. When the doom of the regime became obvious, these circles themselves were able to remove Mussolini from power.

The third type of totalitarianism is National Socialism. It emerged as a real political and social system in Germany in 1933. National Socialism is related to fascism, although it borrows a lot from Soviet communism and, above all, revolutionary and socialist components, forms of organization of the totalitarian party and state, and even the address “comrade”. At the same time, the place of class here is taken by the nation, and the place of class hatred by national and racial hatred. If in communist systems aggressiveness is directed, first of all, inward - against one’s own citizens (the class enemy), and in national socialism - outward, against other peoples. The main differences between the main varieties of totalitarianism are clearly expressed in their goals (respectively: communism, the revival of the empire, the myrrh domination of the Aryan race) and social preferences (the working class, the descendants of the Romans, the Germanic nation).

Any totalitarian states, one way or another, adhere to three main types of totalitarianism, although within each of these groups there are significant differences, for example, between Stalinism in the USSR and the dictatorial regime of Pol Pot in Kampuchea.

Totalitarianism in its communist form turned out to be the most tenacious. In some countries it still exists today. History has shown that a totalitarian system has a fairly high ability to mobilize resources and concentrate funds to achieve limited goals, for example, victory in war, defense construction, industrialization of society, etc. Some authors even consider totalitarianism as one of the political forms of modernization of underdeveloped countries. Communist totalitarianism has gained significant popularity in the world due to its connection with socialist ideology, which contains many humane ideas. The attractiveness of totalitarianism was also facilitated by the fear of the individual who had not yet been cut off from the communal-collectivist umbilical cord of alienation, competition and responsibility inherent in a market society. The vitality of the totalitarian system is also explained by the presence of a huge apparatus of social control and coercion, and the brutal suppression of any opposition. And yet totalitarianism is a historically doomed system. This is a Samoyed society, incapable of effective creation, prudent, proactive management and existing mainly due to rich natural resources, exploitation, and limiting consumption of the majority of the population. Totalitarianism is a closed society, not adapted to timely qualitative renewal and taking into account the new requirements of a continuously changing world. Its adaptive capabilities are limited by ideological dogmas. The totalitarian leaders themselves are captives of an inherently utopian ideology and propaganda. As already noted, totalitarianism is not limited to dictatorial political systems opposed to idealized Western democracies. Totalitarian tendencies, manifested in the desire to organize the life of society, limit personal freedom and completely subordinate the individual to state and other social control, also occur in Western countries.

Totalitarianism (from the Latin “potal” - universal, all-encompassing) is a political regime in which the citizen is the object of complete control and management. It is characterized by the actual lack of rights of individuals while their rights are formally preserved. The political regime depends on the degree of development of society, external factors, and the authorities.

In the dystopias of E. Zamyatin “We”, J. Orwell “1984” the totalitarian system is described as a closed rational-technocratic society that dehumanizes a person, turning him into a “cog” based on psychophysical engineering and the destruction of morality, love, religion, true art and science . Since the mid-30s, various concepts of totalitarianism began to spread in socio-philosophical and fiction literature as an understanding of the practice of Nazism and Stalinism. We will try to characterize the totalitarian political system using the example of our country in the following areas: ideology, politics, economics. Over 75 years, the USSR went through three stages of totalitarianism: the first - from 1917 to the end of the 20s; the second - from the late 20s to the mid 50s; the third - from the mid-50s to the mid-80s. Totalitarianism is a qualitatively different phenomenon than any other power, no matter how harsh it may be. This is an ideological phenomenon, and totalitarian regimes are, first of all, ideological regimes. They are born of ideology and exist for its sake. If in a traditional despotic society political power is valuable in itself and its bearers use ideology as a means to maintain this power, then for bearers of a totalitarian principle ideology is valuable in itself, and political power is won with the aim of establishing this ideology. It is natural that the goal of an already established regime is to spread its ideology on the maximum scale. The external expansion of such regimes is caused not so much by territorial claims and economic incentives (such as the acquisition of markets, labor, etc.), but mainly by the idea of ​​world domination of their ideology.

The totalitarian regime ideologizes all spheres of life, losing any ability for self-correction. In this case, ideology comes from some primary system of ideals. The October Revolution introduced in us a significantly new (instead of autocratic) system of highest ideals: a world socialist revolution leading to communism - the kingdom of social justice, and an ideal working class. This system of ideals served as the basis for the ideology created in the 30s, which proclaimed the ideas of the “infallible leader” and the “image of the enemy.” The people were brought up in the spirit of admiration for the name of the leader, in the spirit of boundless faith in the justice of his every word. Under the influence of the “enemy image” phenomenon, suspicion spread and denunciation was encouraged, which led to the disunity of people, the growth of mistrust between them and the emergence of a fear syndrome. Unnatural from the point of view of reason, but really existing in the minds of the people, the combination of hatred for real and imaginary enemies and fear for oneself, the deification of the leader and false propaganda, tolerance for a low standard of living and everyday disorder - all this justified the need to confront the “enemies of the people.” The eternal struggle against the “enemies of the people” in society maintained constant ideological tension, directed against the slightest shade of dissent and independence of judgment. The ultimate “overarching goal” of all this monstrous activity was the creation of a system of terror, fear and formal unanimity. At the turn of the 1950s-60s, with the end of the permanent ideal state (the 20th Congress destroyed the myth of internal “enemies of the people”, parity of forces with NATO and the “final victory of socialism in our country” were proclaimed) and at the same time the processes of de-ideologization and collapse of the idea began the unconditional advantage of socialism and the inevitability of the world socialist revolution.

Any totalitarian system creates a cult. But its true and main object is not man, but power as such. The cult of power is the essence of a totalitarian system. Power turns out to be a super value - a value of an absolute, higher order. He who has power has everything: a luxurious life, the servility of others, the ability to express judgments on any occasion, satisfy his every whim, etc. He who does not have power has nothing - no money, no security, no respect, no right to his opinion, tastes, feelings. By creating its cult, totalitarian power mystifies all power functions, limitlessly exaggerating their significance, classifying the huge funds that provide them as secret and denying the role of any objective circumstances. More precisely, for the authorities there is nothing objective, nothing that happens by itself, without its leadership, intervention and control. The cult of power turned out to be much more vital than the cult of personality. We have long learned to be critical of the authorities’ self-praise, understanding the insignificance or relativity of its real successes. But to believe that our troubles are explained only by the fact that the leadership overlooked, made a mistake, that it is guilty or even criminal means still remaining captive to the cult of power. This, in fact, is the illusion of the 20th Congress: before the government was bad, now the government will be good, but it has been and will remain omnipotent. Getting rid of totalitarian mystification lies elsewhere - in understanding the insignificance of the real significance of power in comparison with the processes of self-organization of society. The picture of the world of totalitarian consciousness is not limited to the relationship between the people and the authorities. It also includes deep ideas about causality, the nature of things, time, man, etc. The acceptance of this mythology is not only a consequence of propaganda manipulations. Being the shortest path to happiness in the current conditions of existence, totalitarian mythology is accepted voluntarily and with gratitude. The bearers of the mythology of totalitarianism are people both belonging and not belonging to the power elite. Let us consider the main elements of the totalitarian picture of the world.

1. Belief in the simplicity of the world is a central characteristic of totalitarian consciousness. Belief in a “simple world” does not allow you to feel either your own individuality or the individuality of a loved one. This belief leads to the spread of a negative attitude towards knowledge in general and towards the intelligentsia as its bearer in particular. If the world is simple and understandable, then all the work of scientists is a meaningless waste of people's money, and their discoveries and conclusions are just an attempt to fool people. The illusion of simplicity also creates the illusion of omnipotence: any problem can be solved if you only give the right orders.

2. Belief in an unchanging world. All elements of social life - leaders, institutions, structures, norms, styles - are perceived as frozen in motion. Innovations in everyday life and culture are ignored until they are imported in such quantities that they become perceived as long-known. Inventions are not used, discoveries are classified. The passport system ties people to one place of residence, and labor legislation - to one workplace. Belief in the immutability of the world entails distrust of change.

3. Belief in a just world. The reign of justice is realized in every totalitarian regime. There is no communism yet - the environment is preventing it from being built, but social justice has already been achieved. People's concern for justice in its strength and universality is difficult to compare with any other human motive. In the name of justice, the kindest and most monstrous deeds were committed.

4. Belief in the miraculous properties of the world. It reveals the isolation of totalitarian consciousness from reality. Carrying out industrialization, the government was interested in creating a cult of technology. Miracles of progress were given magical properties. However, the credit of this faith is not endless. There are already tractors on every collective farm, but there is no abundance in sight. The authorities have to promise new miracles.

The collapse of totalitarian consciousness in the Brezhnev and post-Brezhnev eras was marked by an extraordinary flowering of irrational beliefs. Power changes people. Selective repressions, selection and placement of personnel, manipulation of people lead to the fact that the new political system creates a new psychological type. Key positions in the party, in government, in the army, etc. occupied by people who most closely correspond to the practice of totalitarianism, support it and are ready to implement it. At the same time, people formed by the authorities demand that the power elite comply with the totalitarian canon. In conditions of stability, this influence is unlikely to be significant, but in a period of social changes, especially reforms, from above, this conservative pressure can turn out to be a powerful inhibitory factor. The main social force on which totalitarianism relied during the period of its formation was not any specific class, but the lumpen in the broad sense of the word, people of different social origins, knocked out of their traditional social “pockets” by powerful economic and military shocks, people with marginal psychology. In Russia, it was these people who enthusiastically rushed into the party during the “Leninist calls”, without bothering themselves with the need to understand the basic ideas of Marxist theory. The passive opposition of the majority of the population and the fierce resistance of the former propertied classes could not but lead at some stage to the predominance of political and spiritual totalitarianism, to the rampant terror. It is quite natural that, given the predominance of the peasant population in the country, it bore the brunt of the blow. In order to maintain its position, the new government was often forced to deal harshly with the working class on whose behalf it ruled. But the greatest damage to our people was caused by spiritual totalitarianism. Almost the entire Russian intelligentsia, who embodied the spirit of the people, had to be destroyed by the totalitarian regime, and they either emigrated (and contributed to the creative leap of the West) or ended their journey more tragically on their native soil. A totalitarian society cannot afford the luxury of freedom of thought. Lumpen layers in society have been present to one degree or another throughout its history. But only at a certain stage of social development (i.e. in the 20th century) do these strata become the social base of totalitarian political regimes and produce “cadres” of leaders and executors (as well as victims). Lumpenized groups of society are socially amorphous, socio-politically and economically disoriented, hostile to all other social strata and groups that have a stable way of life, certainty of ethical principles, etc. The difference between the lumpen of the 20th century and similar social groups in previous eras is, first of all, that the “lumpenizer” in this case is the state itself, monopolizing the economy, or super-monopolies, fused with the state and in this regard not much different from it. The social properties of the lumpen strata of society make them susceptible to radical ideologies and radical political regimes. In the history of Russia, the lumpenization of the population has always been a characteristic feature of its social life. The super-centralized state, established since the time of Ivan the Terrible, had not lost its strength by the 20th century. The tsar's subjects never enjoyed civil rights and freedoms. Moreover, this applied to all layers of society. Post-reform (after 1861) development gave rise to civil society, but at the same time, through the dispossession of peasants and the proletarianization of the population, it intensified the lumpenization of significant groups of it. The revolution of 1905-1907, on the one hand (through the Constitution), legitimized the growing civil society, and on the other, strengthened and aggravated the contradiction between the lumpen and the bourgeois. October 1917 marked the end of the development of civil society. The processes of lumpenization have spread throughout society.

The second stage of totalitarianism is characterized by the fact that it has already formed its own social base, which fully corresponds to its mature forms. This is an army of bureaucracy, capable, with the help of punitive agencies, of repelling everyone who rises to the level of “reason” and declares their rights. The bureaucratization of all forms of social management occurs as follows. In a fully nationalized economy, the state apparatus becomes the total owner of all material components of the life of society. This makes him inevitably the master of all products of spiritual production. While the apparatus has full power, it does not and cannot have political competitors, and mechanisms of checks and balances do not exist in society. The state-party apparatus cannot help but become bureaucratic in such conditions.

The third stage of totalitarianism in the economic field is characterized by the achievement of the highest degree of violence, and society begins to ossify and stagnate. However, the accelerated development of the modern world and the progressive interdependence of countries lead to the fact that stagnation almost immediately begins to be viewed as degradation. But the authorities who declared our country “the beacon of all mankind” were unable to come to terms with the situation of an economic “race without development” with an emphasis on purely quantitative indicators, which actually pushed the country even further from the advanced countries. After abandoning violent methods of management, the leaders of the USSR, in order to “balance society,” begin to “unscrew the screws.” But since there was no departure from the essence of the totalitarian system, this process could only go in one direction, towards weakening control over work and discipline.

Authoritarianism is usually viewed as a type of regime that occupies an intermediate position between totalitarianism and democracy. However, such a characteristic does not indicate the essential features of the phenomenon as a whole, even if we take into account which features of totalitarianism and which of democracy can be found in it.

Essentially important when defining authoritarianism is the nature of the relationship between the state and the individual: they are built more on coercion than on persuasion. At the same time, the authoritarian regime liberalizes public life, does not seek to impose a clearly developed official ideology on society, allows limited and controlled pluralism in political thinking, opinions and actions, and tolerates the existence of opposition. Management of various spheres of social life is not so total; there is no strictly organized control over the social and economic infrastructure of civil society, over production, trade unions, educational institutions, mass organizations, and the media. Autocracy (from the Greek autokrateia - autocracy, autocracy, i.e. unlimited power of one person) does not require a demonstration of loyalty on the part of the population, as with totalitarianism; the absence of open political confrontation is enough for it. However, the regime is merciless to manifestations of real political competition for power, to the actual participation of the population in decision-making on the most important issues in the life of society. Authoritarianism suppresses basic civil rights.

In order to maintain unlimited power in its hands, the authoritarian regime circulates elites not through the competitive struggle of candidates in elections, but through co-optation (volitional introduction) of them into governing structures. Due to the fact that the process of transfer of power in such regimes is carried out not through legally established procedures for replacing leaders, but by force, these regimes are not legitimate. However, despite the lack of support from the people, autocracies can exist for a long time and quite successfully. They are able to effectively solve strategic problems, despite their illegitimacy. An example of such effective from the point of view of implementing economic and social reforms can be authoritarian regimes in Chile, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Argentina, and countries of the Arab East.

These features of authoritarianism indicate a certain similarity with totalitarianism. However, the most significant difference between them lies in the nature of the relationship of power with society and the individual. If under authoritarianism these relations are differentiated and based on “limited pluralism,” then totalitarianism generally rejects any pluralism and diversity of social interests. Moreover, totalitarianism seeks to eliminate not only social, but also ideological pluralism and dissent. Authoritarianism does not challenge the right to autonomous self-expression of various groups of society.

Traditional absolutist monarchies are regimes in which there is no separation of powers, no political competition, power is concentrated in the hands of a narrow group of people, and the ideology of the aristocratic class dominates. An example is the regimes in the Persian Gulf countries, as well as in Nepal, Morocco, etc.

Traditional authoritarian regimes of the oligarchic type predominate in Latin America. As a rule, economic and political power under such regimes is concentrated in the hands of a few influential families. One leader replaces another through a coup or rigged elections. The elite is closely connected with the church and the military elite (for example, the regime in Guatemala).

The hegemonic authoritarianism of the new oligarchy was created as a regime that expressed the interests of the comprador bourgeoisie, i.e. that part of the bourgeoisie of economically backward, dependent countries that acted as an intermediary between foreign capital and the national market. Such regimes existed during the Marcos presidency in the Philippines (1972 - 1985), Tunisia, Cameroon, etc. A fairly widespread variety of authoritarian regimes are “military regimes.” They come in three types:

a) having a strictly dictatorial, terrorist nature and personal nature of power (for example, the regime of I. Amin in Uganda);

b) military juntas carrying out structural reforms (for example, the regime of General Pinochet in Chile);

c) one-party regimes that existed in Egypt under G. A. Nasser, in Peru under X. Peron, etc. Theocratic regimes, in which political power is concentrated in the hands of clergy, should be highlighted as another type of authoritarianism. An example of this type would be the regime of Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran.

Conclusion.

Over the past 20 years, many non-democratic: totalitarian and authoritarian regimes have collapsed or transformed into democratic republics or states on a democratic basis. The general disadvantage of non-democratic political systems is that they were not controlled by the people, which means that the nature of their relationships with citizens depended, first of all, on the will of the rulers.

In past centuries, the possibility of arbitrariness on the part of authoritarian rulers was significantly restrained by the traditions of government, the relatively high education and upbringing of monarchs and aristocracy, their self-control based on religious and moral codes, as well as the opinion of the church and the threat of popular uprisings. In the modern era, these factors either disappeared altogether or their effect was greatly weakened. Therefore, only a democratic form of government can reliably curb power and guarantee the protection of citizens from state arbitrariness. For those peoples who are ready for individual freedom and responsibility, limiting their own selfishness, respect for the law and human rights, democracy truly creates the best opportunities for individual and social development, the realization of humanistic values: freedom, equality, justice, social creativity.

In reality, there are no ideal democratic forms of political regime. In a particular state there are methods of official rule that differ in their content. Nevertheless, it is possible to identify the most general features inherent in one or another type of political regime. The main criterion for classifying states on this basis is the democracy of the forms and methods of exercising state power.

The modern state is characterized by both totalitarianism and legal democracy, just as slaveholding states are characterized by both despotism and democracy; for feudalism - both the unlimited power of the feudal lord, the monarch, and the people's assembly.

References.

1. Aron R. Democracy and totalitarianism. M., 1993.

2. Butenko A. .Ot. totalitarianism.towards democracy: general and specific // Socio-political journal. 1995. No. 6; 1996. No. 1,2,3.

3. Krivoguz I.M. Political science. - M.: Vlados, 2001.

4. Political science. Encyclopedic Dictionary. M., 1993.

5. Political science. Encyclopedic Dictionary. M., 1993.

6. Panarin A.S. Political science. Ed. 2nd, revised And additional - M.: Prospekt, 2001.

7. Chudinova I. Political life.// Socio-political magazine. 1994. No. 11-12.

8. Political science: course of lectures / Institute of National Reform Strategy; Glotov S.A., Skvortsov I.P., Novikov V.V. and others - M. 2000.

Edreev Tamerlan Shaikh-Magomedovich
Assistant at the Department of Criminal Law and Criminology
FSBEI HE Chechen State University,
Grozny
Email: [email protected]

By analyzing the entire spectrum of totalitarian states, it can be noted that the totalitarian regime of any state was characterized by certain similar features and characteristics. Thus, the main features of totalitarianism were highlighted in the works of H. Arendt “The Origins of Totalitarianism” (1951), R. Aron “Democracy and Totalitarianism” (1956), K. Friedrich and Z. Brzezinski “Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy” (1956).

In particular, in the work “Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy” K. Friedrich and Z. Brzezinski draw attention to the following characteristic features of a totalitarian regime:

1) the presence of a single political party with its own ideology, headed by a charismatic leader;

2) state monopoly ideology, within the framework of which almost all socially important relations are regulated;

3) complete monopoly and control over the media, the activities of which are strictly regulated and controlled by party functionaries;

4) monopoly on all means of armed struggle;

5) political terror against “internal enemies”;

6) planned directive economy of the state.

Thus, by totalitarianism we understand a form of relationship between society and government, in which state power takes complete control of society and forms a single whole with it - a totalitarian society.

Against the background of the above, it should be noted that the totalitarian nature of the state inevitably leads to selectivity of the law, permissiveness and lack of control of government officials, since opposition to them is considered as an encroachment on the interests of the entire totalitarian state.

Comprehensive state control over all spheres of public life leads to the formation of an “atmosphere of fear” in society, general mistrust and suspicion, which consists in a constant search for foreign spies and internal saboteurs. In turn, a totalitarian state skillfully takes advantage of such sentiments, since people’s distrust of each other provides complete power over people’s minds and reduces the likelihood of a collective struggle against the current government.

Depending on what vector of development of society and the state the main emphasis is placed on, and also depending on what serves as the fundamental idea of ​​the current totalitarian regime, we can note the following types of totalitarianism:

1. A totalitarian political regime of a socialist (communist) type, the basis of which is Marxist ideology with provisions on social equality and the formation of an economically homogeneous classless society.

2. The next type of totalitarian regime should include political regimes of the fascist or national socialist type. In states where there was a totalitarian regime of the Nazi type, they sought to build a mono-ethnic, racially homogeneous society. This goal was sought to be achieved through the rise of one of the nations and the corresponding destruction and discrimination of others. Nazi Germany should be noted as a classic example of totalitarianism of this type.

3. Finally, the third type of totalitarianism should include regimes in which the idea of ​​religious fundamentalism and fanaticism predominates. This, in particular, is theocratic totalitarianism. A totalitarian regime of this type is characterized by the desire to form a society, the functioning of which is completely based on the dogmas and canons of the dominant religion in its most orthodox, irreconcilable version.

Bibliography:

1. Samoilov I.D. Improving the individual and society within the framework of the phenomenon of totalitarian power // Bulletin of the Chelyabinsk State University. 2012. No. 35 (289). Philosophy. Sociology. Culturology. Vol. 28.

1. Control over freedom of thought and suppression of dissent.

J. Orwell wrote about this: “totalitarianism has encroached on individual freedom in a way that could never have been imagined before. It is important to be aware that its control over thought pursues not only prohibitive, but also constructive goals. It is not just forbidden to express - even admit - certain, but it is dictated what exactly the person should think is isolated as much as possible from the outside world in order to isolate it in an artificial environment, depriving it of the possibility of comparisons. A totalitarian state necessarily tries to control thoughts and feelings at least as effectively, how much he controls their actions."

2. Division of the population into “ours” and “not ours”.

It is common for people - and this is almost a law of human nature - to converge more quickly and easily on negative grounds, on hatred of enemies, envy of those who have a better life, than on a constructive task. The enemy (both internal and external) is an integral part of the arsenal of a totalitarian leader. In a totalitarian state, terror and fear are used not only as a tool to destroy and intimidate real and imaginary enemies, but also as a normal, everyday tool for controlling the masses. To this end, the atmosphere of civil war is constantly cultivated and reproduced. Also, totalitarianism must constantly demonstrate its successes to citizens, prove the feasibility of the proclaimed plans, or find convincing evidence for the population why these advances have not been implemented. And the search for internal enemies fits very well here. The old, long-known principle applies here: “Divide and conquer.” Those who are “not with us, and therefore against us” must be subject to reprisals. Terror was unleashed without any apparent reason or prior provocation. In Nazi Germany it was unleashed against the Jews. In the Soviet Union, terror was not limited to race, and anyone could be its target.

3. Totalitarianism creates a special type of person.

The desire of totalitarianism to remake human nature is one of its main distinguishing features from all other forms of traditional despotism, absolutism and authoritarianism. From this point of view, totalitarianism is a phenomenon exclusively of the twentieth century. It sets the task of completely remaking and transforming a person in accordance with ideological guidelines, constructing a new type of personality with a special mental make-up, special mentality, mental and behavioral characteristics, through standardization, unification of the individual principle, its dissolution in the mass, reducing all individuals to some the average denominator, the suppression of the personal principle in a person. Thus, the ultimate goal of creating a “new man” is the formation of an individual completely devoid of any autonomy. Such a person does not even need to be managed; he will govern himself, guided by the dogmas that are currently being put forward by the ruling elite. However, in practice, the implementation of this policy gave rise to denunciation, the writing of anonymous letters and led to the moral decay of society.

4. The state even interferes in a person’s personal life.

In a totalitarian society, everything: science, art, economics, politics, philosophy, morality and relations between the sexes is guided by one key idea. One of the most important indicators of the penetration of totalitarian principles into all spheres of life is “newspeak” - newspeak, which is a means of making it difficult, if not impossible, to express other forms of thought. F. Hayek wrote: “... the easiest way to convince people of the authenticity of the values ​​they are forced to serve is to explain to them that these are the very values ​​in which they have always believed, it’s just that these values ​​were previously misunderstood. A characteristic feature of the entire intellectual atmosphere totalitarian countries: a complete distortion of language, substitution of the meaning of words designed to express the ideals of the new system."

However, these weapons ultimately turn against the regime. Since people are forced to adapt to the irrationalism of language, they are forced to lead an existence in which it is impossible to follow official instructions, but it is necessary to pretend to be guided by them. This gives rise to a kind of double standard in the behavior of a totalitarian person. Phenomena appear, called by J. Orwell “doublethink” - doublethink and “thoughtcrime” - thought crime. That is, a person’s life and consciousness seem to be bifurcated: in society he is a completely loyal citizen, but in private life he shows complete indifference and distrust of the regime. Thus, one of the fundamental principles of “classical” totalitarianism is violated: the total unity of the masses and the party, the people and the leader.