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Single Idea 20580

[catalogued under 24. Political Theory / C. Ruling a State / 2. Leaders / c. Despotism]

Full Idea

The ideal subject of totalitarianism is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced communist, but anyone who has lost the ability to make distinctions between fact and fiction and between true and false.

Gist of Idea

The ideal subject for dictators is not a fanatic, but someone who can't distinguish true from false

Source

report of Hannah Arendt (The Origins of Totalitarianism [1968]) by Johanna Oksala - Political Philosophy: all that matters Ch.9

A Reaction

We are currently living with an apparent attempt by Donald Trump to become a totalitarian President of the U.S.A., by constantly disseminating lies, and labelling all of his critics as 'fake news'.

Book Reference

Oksala,Johanna: 'Political Philosophy' [Hodder and Stoughton 2013], p.114