totalitarian
Meaning: Relating to a system of government that exercises absolute control over all aspects of public and private life, permitting no opposition or dissent.
Totalitarianism goes beyond authoritarianism in seeking to control not only political behaviour but also ideology, culture, the economy, and personal life. The term is most associated with Nazi Germany, Stalin's Soviet Union, and Mao's China. Hannah Arendt's 'The Origins of Totalitarianism' (1951) is a landmark study. George Orwell's 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' depicts a fictional totalitarian state. Common collocations include 'totalitarian regime,' 'totalitarian state,' and 'totalitarian ideology.'
Examples
- Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four remains the most influential literary depiction of a totalitarian state. 奥威尔的《一九八四》至今仍是对极权国家最具影响力的文学描绘。1984 de Orwell sigue siendo la representación literaria más influyente de un Estado totalitario.オーウェルの『一九八四年』は、全体主義国家を描いた文学作品として今なお最も影響力がある。오웰의 『1984』는 전체주의 국가를 묘사한 문학 작품으로서 여전히 가장 영향력 있는 작품이다.
- The regime's totalitarian control extended to censoring all forms of art and cultural expression. 该政权的极权控制延伸到了对所有艺术和文化表达形式的审查。El control totalitario del régimen se extendía a la censura de todas las formas de arte y expresión cultural.その体制の全体主義的支配は、あらゆる形態の芸術・文化表現の検閲にまで及んだ。그 정권의 전체주의적 통제는 모든 형태의 예술 및 문화적 표현에 대한 검열에까지 미쳤다.
- Hannah Arendt argued that totalitarianism represented a fundamentally new form of political domination. 汉娜·阿伦特认为极权主义代表了一种全新的政治统治形式。Hannah Arendt sostuvo que el totalitarismo representaba una forma fundamentalmente nueva de dominación política.ハンナ・アーレントは、全体主義が根本的に新しい形の政治的支配であると論じた。한나 아렌트는 전체주의가 근본적으로 새로운 형태의 정치적 지배라고 주장했다.
Pronunciation
Usage Guide
Context: academic, media, professional
Tone: neutral
Origin & History
From Italian totalitario, derived from totalità (totality), from Latin totalis (entire, total). The political term was first used by opponents of Italian fascism in the 1920s, and later adopted by Mussolini himself as a positive descriptor.
Cultural Context
Era: Modern
Generation: All ages
Social background: Universal
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