Totalitarianism, Cold War, and Other Fun Facts about the Post War Period in Europe 

 

Ideology: a system of ideas and beliefs that justifies existing (or future) structures of power and socioeconomic arrangements.

 

Totalitarianism: characteristics according to Friederich and Brzezinski (ca. 1960)
------(critized by Paxton in his "Five Stages of Fascism")

 

1. Pre-eminence of a single leader
2. An official, exclusive ideology to which the whole society is to be committed for the purpose of achieving quasi-utopian goals, such as better nation, better race, or classless society.
3. A single, hierarchically organized and centralized mass party, under authoritarian leadership.
4. Centralized control, via the party and the state of
1. the economy
2. communications
3. military and police forces
4. education and other socializing institutions.
5. A legalized system of terroristic police control.

 

Degree of Authoritarian Control in Italy, Germany, and the Soviet Union, 1922-1954

Institutions and Organizations	Fascist Italy under Mussolini	Nazi Germany under Hitler	Soviet Russia under Stalin
Pre-eminent leader
Central Government	yes	yes	yes
Armed Forces
Law Making, Justice
Law Enforcement, Police
Political Parties
Labor
Industry
Churches
Schools
Communications