#Totalitarianism
Quotes about totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system where the state holds absolute power over every aspect of public and private life, often led by a single party or leader. This form of governance seeks to control not only the political and economic spheres but also the thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors of its citizens. The allure of totalitarianism lies in its promise of order and unity, often emerging in times of chaos and uncertainty. However, it is also synonymous with oppression, censorship, and the suppression of individual freedoms. People are drawn to quotes about totalitarianism because they encapsulate the tension between authority and liberty, offering insights into the human condition under such regimes. These quotes often serve as powerful reminders of the resilience of the human spirit and the enduring quest for freedom and autonomy. They provoke reflection on the balance between security and freedom, and the cost of sacrificing one for the other. In a world where the shadows of totalitarianism can still be felt, these quotes resonate deeply, urging us to remain vigilant and cherish the democratic values that safeguard our liberties.
I have read somewhere that in a totalitarian system martyrdom does better than thought.
Whoever we were—and it was not really important what religion we belonged to, whether we wished to wear the veil or not, whether we observed certain religious norms or not—we had become the figment of someone else's dreams.
Does human nature undergo a true change in the cauldron of totalitarian violence? Does man lose his innate yearning for freedom? The fate of both man and the totalitarian State depends on the answer to this question. If human nature does change, then the eternal and world-wide triumph of the dictatorial State is assured; if his yearning for freedom remains constant, then the totalitarian State is doomed.
As every advance of Power is useful for war, so war is useful for the advance of power; war is like a sheep-dog harrying the laggard Powers to catch up their smarter fellows in the totalitarian race.
What I'm saying is simply that every totalitarian society, no matter how strict, has had its underground. In fact, two undergrounds. There's the underground involved in political resistance and the underground involved in preserving beauty and fun--which is to say, preserving the human spirit.
It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so, and will follow it by suppressing opposition, subverting all education to seize early the minds of the young, and by killing, locking up, or driving underground all heretics.
A totalitarian state is in effect a theocracy, and its ruling caste, in order to keep its position, has to be thought of as infallible. But since, in practice, no one is infallible, it is frequently necessary to rearrange past events in order to show that this or that mistake was not made, or that this or that imaginary triumph actually happened.
The essential principle of totalitarianism is to make laws that are impossible to obey.
Minns en sak", sa hans överordnade, "du har varken far, mor, bröder eller systrar, partiet är det enda du har."Och så förstärktes denna egendomliga, tärande känsla: i sin tanklöshet och i sin lydnad fann han inte svaghet utan i stället en hotfull styrka.
Rather like "Orwellian", the term "Kafkaesque" has come to be used, often enough by those who have not read a word of Kafka, to describe what are perceived as typically or even uniquely modern traumas: existential alienation, isolation and insecurity, the labyrinth of state bureaucracy, the corrupt or whimsical abuse of totalitarian power, the impenetrable tangle of legal systems, the knock on the door in the middle of the night….