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Moving Towards Totalitarianism in Our Pursuit of Social Justice
Pursuit of various visions of social justice probably accounts for most human misery. What's more, the historical pattern that has emerged has been one whereby one form of injustice is replaced by one that is far worse. Russia's 1917 revolution expelling the Czars, and their injustices, ushered in Lenin, Stalin and a succession of brutal dictators who murdered tens of millions in the name of the proletariat revolution. The injustices of Chiang Kai-shek were replaced with those of Mao Tse-tung; Castro's ousting of Batista or Ayatollah Khomeini's toppling of the Shah of Iran produced regimes far more brutal. In Africa, after independence, the injustices of colonial powers were replaced with those of brutal dictators. The slaughter of nearly 200 million poor souls, not including war deaths, during the 20th century, was a direct result of pursuit of visions of social justice such as income equality, promoting the common good and fighting the so-called evils of capitalism. As if by design, measures taken to produce what was seen as the good society lowered both the common man's human rights protections and his standard of living.
By contrast, after the American revolution, we laid the groundwork that produced the world's freest people. However, for most of the 20th century, we have been losing ground. If you ask the question which way are we heading - away from totalitarianism or towards it - there is no question that, by tiny steps at a time, we are heading towards totalitarianism and arbitrary governmental abuse and control. Some Americans are naive enough to think that the oppression seen in other countries can't happen here. But let's not forget that the countr...
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...t determine what is or is not moral conduct. In Nazi-Germany, there were laws that required the reporting of a person hiding a Jew. In our country, the Fugitive Slave Act made assisting runaway slaves a crime. In apartheid South Africa, hiring blacks for certain work was illegal. In the former East Germany, assisting people in their efforts to escape to the West was illegal. Would any decent person demand that any of these laws be obeyed? Decent people must always ask: Does the law have a moral basis?
Liberty is not mankind's normal state of affairs. Liberty is fragile. Our liberties are under siege because most Americans are ignorant about our Constitution and its philosophical underpinnigs. Thus, we fall easy prey to political charlatans and quacks all too ready to exploit this ignorance in their quest for power and to satisfy popular visions of social justice.
Livius, Titus. "The History of Rome, Vol. III." Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library. 8 11, 2005. http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/Liv3His.html (accessed 3 1, 2010).
With the dawn of civilization soon thereafter followed the creation of authoritarian and totalitarian establishments. The history of man is inundated with instances of leaders rising to power over certain groups of people and through various means gaining formidable control to be used for good, evil, or an ambiguous mixture of both. However, it is an undeniable fact that once unchecked power is acquired, tyranny often ensues, and thus a dictatorial regime is born. Over the centuries, governmental establishments have risen and fallen, but as history and civilization progress, so does the potential for a larger and more powerful domination. The development of differing and contrasting theologies and structural philosophies leads not only to conflict, but perhaps more prominently to unification under one rule with a common belief, especially when that unifying belief provides a promising sense of belonging and structure to a weak society. This is what led to the rise of two of the most domineering totalitarian governments in history: Stalin’s Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and Hitler’s Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich.
Thomas Jefferson once said “Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.” Over time I have begun to believe that America is evolving into a dystopian society and it is caused greatly by the fact that the United States is a tyranny disguised as a democracy. The reason that the United States government isn’t understood to be a tyranny is because they don’t directly oppress their citizens, but through psychological control make us indirectly oppress ourselves.
The book “1984” by George Orwell is a fictional work that was penned as a discourse on Orwell’s views of what it would be like to live in a totalitarianism society. It is my belief that his views were based on his personal life experiences as he witnessed first hand many of the violent crimes perpetuated by those in positions of authority. Often, these crimes against one segment of society were carried out by other members of the same society in the name of political advancement or at other times out of fear for one’s life. Due to his experiences, Orwell began to write of his hatred of political power and the concept of a totalitarianism society. “1984” serves as a warning to readers of how a government can become abusive when seeking total control of it’s population. Furthermore, it showcases in great detail how a society can allow itself to be controlled through a series of psychological abuses and manipulation of historical information.
You would be lying to yourself if you thought that an attempt of a society based solely on hate has not tried to survive throughout our human history. A totalitarian society is defined as a centralized government that doesn’t tolerate parties with differing opinion and that exercises dictatorial control over many aspects of life. There have been various attempts to design a totalitarian type of government, but all have failed for more than one reason. A society based solely on hate can’t survive due to the obstacles of freethinkers and challenges of forcing an emotion like hate on people would destroy the society slowly from the inside out.
America is one word that brings the hope of freedom to many people around the world. Since the United States’ humble beginnings freedom has remained at the core of its ideologies and philosophies. People of all races, nations, and tongues have found refuge in America. The National Anthem proclaims, “…land of the free, and home of the brave” (Key, 1814). But has America been consistently a land of the free? Unfortunately freedom has not always reigned. There is a constant struggle to overcome fear and prejudice in order to provide a true land of freedom. In times of heightened tension, the masses of common people seek to find a scapegoat. Often, this scapegoat is a minority with ties to current negative events. As fear uncontrollably grows, it can cause people to allow and commit unspeakable atrocities.
Since the beginning of time man has tried to build vast empires to control the globe. Manifest Destiny has been sown into our human nature creating in us the desire to conquer. In the United States, we are accustomed to a safe democratic government where everyone has a voice and freedoms, but what if it all changed? What would it even look like for America to be stripped of all our freedoms, rights, and liberties? We think this is crazy and could never happen, but George Orwell illustrates, throughout his novel 1984, the possible dangers of complete government control. Even though this exaggerated society seems farfetched, many of his fictional governmental qualities are starting to line up with our government today.
There are a number of reasons why this freedom needs to be protected. The number one and most important is to keep the individuality of the American people from becoming controlled by the Government.
A dictatorship, in this case Hitler, and a party (Nazi Party: National Socialist Germans’ Workers Party NSDAP) need to control the law courts, the media, police and of course, the government. There is basically no freedom of choice and the individual who created this totalitarian government has total control over its people. In any government, there are many different aspects that it controls, and these are especially significant for totalitarian governments. First of all, totalitarian governments control the political aspect of their state, in the sense that the leader basically symbolizes the government and is able to unite its people, the government is also solely controlled by one single political party, and the state is always considered more important than the individuals. A second aspect is the social aspect, in which the totalitarian government controls all features of daily life, meaning citizens are denied their basic rights and liberties, and there is a secret police that uses terror and violence to enforce governmental policies. Finally, the economic aspect of totalitarian governments basically represents the fact that they direct the national economy and control businesses, which means that these businesses and labor in general are used to fulfill the objectives of the state.
Throughout Denial, Lipstadt and her legal team are shown collecting evidence and talking about why even though there was no photographic proof of the Holocaust, it happened. It was interesting to see her opponent, David Irving, struggle to combat her facts with his idea of reality. One exceptional example of this is when Rampton talks about the gassing chambers
Alvin B. Kernan. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. Print.
Julius Caesar was born on the 13th day of the month Quintilis (now July) in the year of 100 B.C. His full name was Gaius Julius Caesar, the same as his father's name. Gaius was his given name and Julius was his surname. Caesar was the name of one branch of the Julian family. Its original meaning was "hairy.” Caesar's family was not prominent, but they claimed to be descended from Venus as well as the kings of Alba Langa. In spite of that fiction, Caesar was well connected through his relatives and received some important government assignments during his youth. Julius Caesar was the dictator of Rome from 61-44 BC. At the time of his birth, Rome was still a republic and the empire was only beginning. Caesar made his way to be considered a head of Rome by 62 BC, but many of the senate felt him a dangerous, ambitious man. The senate did their best to keep him out of consulship. He finally became consul in 59 BC. In Caesar, they saw only the threat of a king, a word that was linked with the word “tyrant” that is cruel or unjust rule.
Wilkinson, Toby A. H.. The rise and fall of ancient Egypt. New York: Random House, 2010. Print.
The US is supposedly the most free, democratic, fair and just country. However, at the core is a h...
During the time between World War I and World War II countries pursued security through totalitarianism. Totalitarianism began with conservative authoritarian governments. These governments were antidemocratic, they prevented any type of major change, they relied on larger entities like police and armies to control the people, and all liberal and democratic mindsets were diminished. But, conservative authoritarian governments could not control every aspect of peoples’ lives due t the lack of communication and transportation. These types of government had the ultimate goal t attain order, peace, and security which would be a forefront goal of totalitarianism during the 20th century.