A characteristic feature of a totalitarian system is... Characteristics and signs of a totalitarian regime

Totalitarianism is what it is political system, which is characterized by complete state control over all spheres of public life, the virtual elimination of the rights and freedoms of citizens, and repression of the opposition and dissidents.

The first sign is the complete monopolization of power by one or another political leader. The Secretary General, Fuhrer or Caudillo unites in himself the legislative and executive powers, and the judicial branch is placed in such conditions that it practically loses its independence. The politician who finds himself at the top of the totalitarian system imagines himself as the leader and savior of the people. On the way to absolute dominance, he certainly overthrows someone, suppresses or destroys something. Thus, Hitler, on his way to total power, organized the burning of the Reichstag (parliament), and in 1933 he abolished it completely.
Having appropriated full power, the supreme leader creates his own command vertical. He appoints and dismisses lower-level commanders at his own will. Every official owes his career to him and must unconditionally follow his instructions. Disliked by the leader government officials are relieved of their positions, put on trial or oblivion.

Second sign totalitarian regime– the desire to eliminate multi-party systems and establish the dominance of one political party in society. The one-party system allows you to create and introduce a single ideology to the masses that supports and protects the interests of the ruling political regime. In such a system there is no place for critical speeches and opposition movements.
Propaganda and information provision of the population are of a centralized state nature. The political rhetoric of totalitarianism is characterized by the use of label terms, words divorced from the actual origin and content of the concepts that they originally designated, and used to create the image of an “enemy of the nation,” “renegade,” “enemy of the people.”
Information monopoly opens up the opportunity to create easily digestible social myths, a kind of hyperreality, an illusory world that completely capture the mass consciousness. The lumpen population begins to believe that they are participating in political life, whereas in reality they are used by the authorities as a means to strengthen their positions in society.

The third sign of a totalitarian regime is the creation of broad socio-political movements that provide it with mass social support. These movements introduce the totalitarian idea into the mass consciousness, help the totalitarian regime maintain comprehensive control over various manifestations of public life, and form positive attitude to the existing power on the part of the people. With the help of the apparatus of intimidation and the activists of these movements, an atmosphere of suspicion and spy mania is being created in society. Enemies are being looked for everywhere, denunciation and mutual responsibility are spreading. In such conditions the best way Demonstrating loyalty to the regime becomes personal devotion and servility.
The massive nature of socio-political movements gives the totalitarian regime the appearance of democracy, democracy, and provides it with a certain stability.

The fourth sign of totalitarianism is state-directed terror, through which the existing government seeks to achieve the universal loyalty of citizens. Together with total propaganda, terror gives rise to general violence, causing constant fear and uncertainty among citizens. own strength. The repressive actions of state punitive bodies begin with a “witch hunt”, with reprisals against the opposition. But over time, terror reaches national proportions. The feeling of insecurity of an individual in front of the state machine becomes so obvious, personal security turns out to be so minimal that paralysis of the individual will sets in, cowardice, betrayal and suspicion of people towards each other appear.

The fifth feature of a totalitarian system is its desire to create a closed, isolated economic mechanism, which is under strict, centralized control of the state. A strictly centralized order of economic life is required by the ruling elite in order to have unlimited access to the material and financial resources necessary for the implementation of certain volitional decisions, projects, and also in order to maximize the economic dependence of people on a totalitarian state.
Achieving state monopoly in the economic sphere, the totalitarian regime expels from the economy that part of the industrial and financial business who does not cooperate with him. The taken means of production and capital are appropriated by the totalitarian state or passed into the hands of entrepreneurs loyal to it.

The sixth sign totalitarian power is the planting in society of one, the only true ideology. Its content is formed by a combination of specially invented myths and pseudoscientific theories. By implementing its ideology, the government emphasizes the exceptional nature of its historical mission; it certainly “protects” someone or something, “saves”, etc.

Sphere of Consciousness

The classical model of totalitarianism, identifying it with political totalitarianism, is based on those features that were, to a greater or lesser extent, inherent in the Stalinist regime in the USSR, the National Socialist regime in Germany and the fascist regime (Mussolini) in Italy. She views these traits as general signs totalitarianism. These include a complex of features, and above all rationalization and ideologization public consciousness.

Totalitarian systems do not arise spontaneously, but on the basis of a certain ideological image. Totalitarianism is a creation of the human mind, its attempt to place all public and personal life under direct rational control and to subordinate it to certain goals. Therefore, when identifying the common features of this type of political system, the starting point is an analysis of the underlying ideology and social consciousness. The totalitarian system derives its vitality. Ideology is designed to perform a social integration function, cement people into a political community, serve as a value guide, and motivate the behavior of citizens and public policy.

The ideologization of all social life, the desire to subordinate all economic and social processes to the only true theory through planning is the most important feature political totalitarianism. Various shapes totalitarian ideology has some inherent general properties. First of all, this is a teleological (goal) orientation in views on social development, borrowed from religious ideologies. Totalitarian ideology borrows chiliastic ideas about the happy ending of history, the achievement of the final meaning of human existence, which can be communism, the thousand-year Reich, etc. An attractive utopia, which paints an alluring image of the future order, is used to justify the everyday difficulties and sacrifices of the people.

The ideology of political totalitarianism is imbued with a paternalistic spirit, a patronizing attitude of leaders who have comprehended the social truth towards the insufficiently enlightened masses. Ideology, as the only true teaching, is binding on everyone. IN Nazi Germany a special law (“Gleichschaltungsgesetz”) was even issued, which provided for a single ideology obligatory for all Germans. A totalitarian society creates a powerful system of indoctrination of the population and manipulation of mass consciousness.

Political totalitarianism is characterized by a monopoly of power on information, full control for the media, intolerance of any dissent, viewing ideological opponents as political opponents. This system eliminates public opinion, replacing it with official political assessments. The universal foundations of morality are denied, and morality itself is subject to political expediency and is essentially destroyed.

Individuality and originality in thoughts, behavior, etc. are suppressed. Herd feelings are cultivated: the desire not to stand out, to be like everyone else, as well as base instincts: class or national hatred, envy, suspicion, denunciation, etc. An image of an enemy with whom there can be no reconciliation is created in people's minds.

Political features

In accordance with the logic of the totalitarian system, the comprehensive ideologization of society is complemented by its total politicization, i.e. hypertrophied development of the apparatus of power, its penetration into all pores of the social organism. The omnipotent government acts as the main guarantor of ideological control over the population. Totalitarianism strives for the complete elimination of civil society, privacy. Politic system, or rather, the party-state organization of society serves as the core, foundation of the entire social and economic organization, which has a rigid hierarchical structure.

The core of a totalitarian political system is an extremely centralized political movement for a new order led by a party of a new, totalitarian type. This party merges with the state and concentrates real power in society. Any political opposition and the creation of any organizations without the sanction of the authorities.

At the same time, the totalitarian political system claims to be the expression of the people's will, the embodiment of the highest nationality or democracy of the highest type. It uses non-alternative, predominantly acclamatory forms of democracy, creating the appearance of popular support, but not allowing for real impact on the decision-making process. With the help of pseudo-democratic institutions of power, high formal mobilization and participation in elections are ensured.

The strictly political features of a totalitarian society also include the presence of a powerful apparatus of social control and coercion (security services, army, police, etc.), mass terror or intimidation of the population. Blind faith and fear are the main resources of totalitarian control. Sacralization is taking place supreme power and its bearers, a cult of leaders is created.

Social and economic characteristics

Totalitarianism tries to create a social structure adequate to itself. In an effort to find mass support, he proclaims the superiority of a certain class, nation or race, dichotomously dividing all people into friends and foes. In this case, there is always an internal or external enemy - the bourgeoisie, imperialism, Jews, communists, etc.

The individual loses all autonomy and rights, becomes completely defenseless before the omnipotent government, and falls under its total control. An attempt is being made to form a “new man,” whose defining features are selfless devotion to ideology and leaders, diligence, modesty in consumption, and willingness to make any sacrifice for the sake of the “common cause.”

Simultaneously with the breaking of the former social structure a new one is formed. Society is differentiated mainly depending on the distribution of power. Possession of power or influence over it becomes the basis of social stratification, economic and social privileges. A new, nomenklatura ruling class is being formed - the main support of the totalitarian system. Although totalitarianism, especially in its most consistent, Stalinist version, by equalizing distribution for the majority of citizens, claims to form a socially homogeneous society, in reality it gives rise to deep social inequality.

The dominance of ideology and politics is manifested not only in social sphere, but also in economics. Here, the distinctive features of political totalitarianism are the etatization of economic life, strong restrictions, and ideally complete elimination private property, market relations, competition, planning and command and control methods of management. A state monopoly is established over the disposal of all the most important public resources and the individual himself.

Types of political totalitarianism

Along with the commonality of fundamental institutional features, states of political totalitarianism also have significant features, which makes it possible to distinguish several of their most important varieties. Depending on the dominant ideology influencing the content political activity, they are usually divided into communism, fascism and national socialism.

Historically, the first and classic form of political totalitarianism was communism (socialism) Soviet type, which began with the military-communist system that formed in general outline in 1918. Communist totalitarianism, to a greater extent than its other varieties, expresses the main features of this system, since it presupposes the complete elimination of private property and, consequently, all personal autonomy, absolute power states.

And yet, the characterization of Soviet-type socialism as totalitarianism is one-sided and does not reveal the content and goals of politics in this type of society. Despite many totalitarian forms of political organization, socialist system Humane political goals are also inherent. So, for example, in the USSR it was able to sharply increase the level of education of the people, make scientific and cultural achievements accessible to them, ensure social security of the population, develop the economy, space and military industries, etc., sharply reduce crime, moreover, in the post-Stalin era During this period, the authorities did not resort to mass repression.

The second type of political totalitarianism is fascism. It was first installed in Italy in 1922. Here totalitarian traits were not fully expressed. Italian fascism gravitated not so much towards the radical construction of a new society, but rather towards the revival of the greatness of the Roman Empire, the establishment of order, firm state power. Fascism claims to restore or purify the “people's soul”, ensure collective identity on cultural or ethnic grounds, and eliminate mass crime. In Italy, the boundaries of fascist totalitarianism were set by the position of the most influential circles in the state: the king, the aristocracy, the officer corps and the church. When the doom of the regime became obvious, these circles themselves were able to remove Mussolini from power.

The third type of political totalitarianism is National Socialism. Like a real political and social order it arose in Germany in 1933. National Socialism is related to fascism, although it borrows a lot from Soviet communism, and above all - j revolutionary and socialist components, forms of organization of the totalitarian party and state, and even i address - “comrade”. At the same time, the place of class here is taken by the nation, the place of class hatred by hatred; national and racial. The main differences between the main varieties of totalitarianism are clearly expressed in their goals (respectively: communism, revival of the empire, world domination Aryan race) and social preferences (working class, descendants of the Romans, Germanic nation).;

Any state of political totalitarianism in one way or another adjoins the three main varieties of totalitarianism, although within each of these groups there are significant differences, for example, between Stalinism in; USSR and dictatorial regime Pol Pot in Kampuchea.

Political totalitarianism in its communist form. form turned out to be the most tenacious. IN individual countries"(for example, in North Korea) it still exists today. History has shown that a totalitarian system has a fairly high ability to mobilize resources and concentrate funds to achieve limited goals, for example, victory in war, defense construction, industrialization of society, etc. Some authors consider totalitarianism as one of the political forms of modernization of underdeveloped countries.

It is easy to see that the above classic model totalitarianism corresponds to the political realities of only a narrow circle of states: the Stalinist USSR, Hitler's Germany etc., moreover, without reflecting the deep differences between them. But to one degree or another, some of the considered features of political totalitarianism, especially those reflecting the command-administrative type of management, were inherent in a number of socialist and other states.

As already noted, totalitarianism is not limited to dictatorial political systems opposed to idealized Western democracies. Totalitarian tendencies, manifested in the desire to organize the life of society, limit personal freedom, form a personality type loyal to the existing system and subordinate the individual, including his way of thinking and behavior, to state and other social control, also take place in Western countries. Moreover, in last decades in some countries considered democratic, totalitarian tendencies sharply intensified and acquired a character that allows us to state the emergence of a new, modern form totalitarianism—financial-informational (or informational) totalitarianism.

You can understand its origins and features only by knowing that social environment, which makes possible and gives rise to totalitarianism. An analysis of the prerequisites and causes of totalitarianism, a statement of their presence or absence, their strengthening or weakening at the turn of the 21st century gives grounds to judge the trends in the evolution of totalitarianism in our days.

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….2

1.Characteristics and features of a totalitarian regime………………………...5

1.2 The concept of totalitarianism and its features……………………………………………………5

1.3 Characteristic features of a totalitarian regime…………………………………6

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………14

List of references………………………………………………………...…16

Introduction

For thousands of years, humanity has been searching for the most advanced forms of state organization of society. These forms change with the development of society itself. The form of government, the structure of the state, the political regime are those specific areas where this search is most intense.

The term “political regime” appeared in scientific circulation in the 60s. XX century. Category, “political regime”, according to some scientists; due to its synthetic nature, it should have been considered as a synonym for the form of the state. According to others, the political regime should be excluded altogether from the form of the state, since the functioning of the state is characterized not by the political, but by the state regime. The discussions of that period gave rise to broad and narrow approaches to understanding the political (state) regime.

The broad approach relates the political regime to the phenomena of political life and to the political system of society as a whole. Narrow - makes it the property of only state life and the state, since it specifies other elements of the form of the state: the form of government and the form of government, as well as the forms and methods for the state to carry out its functions. The political regime presupposes and necessarily requires broad and narrow approaches, because this corresponds to the modern understanding of political processes taking place in society in two main spheres - state and socio-political, as well as the nature of the political system, which includes the state and non-state, socio-political organizations . All components of the political system: political parties, public organizations, labor collectives (as well as “non-systemic” objects: the church, mass movements, etc.) are significantly influenced by the state, its essence, the nature of its functions, forms and methods of activity and etc. At the same time, there is also Feedback, since the state largely perceives the impact of the socio-political “habitat”. This influence extends to the form of the state, in particular to the political regime.

Thus, to characterize the form of the state, the political regime is important both in the narrow sense of the word (the set of techniques and methods of state leadership) and in the broad sense (the level of guarantee of democratic rights and political freedoms of the individual, the degree of compliance of official constitutional and legal forms with political realities , the nature of the relationship power structures to the legal foundations of state and public life).

This characteristic of the form of the state reflects extra-legal or legal methods of exercising power, methods of using the “material” appendages of the state: prisons, other punitive institutions, dictatorial or democratic methods of influencing the population, ideological pressure, ensuring or, conversely, violating personal freedom, protecting the rights of citizens , participation in the people, political parties, a measure of economic freedom, attitude towards certain forms of property, etc.

The theory of the state, depending on certain criteria, identifies the types of political regimes that have been used in the centuries-old history of statehood. These types represent a wide range between authoritarian and democratic, extreme poles on the entire scale of political methods of power.

1 .Characteristics and features of a totalitarian regime

significant differences between totalitarianism and authoritarianism:

In an authoritarian regime, the government does not have totalitarian ambitions; the life of society is not regulated and controlled so sophisticatedly. If a citizen does not enter into direct confrontation with the authorities, then there is some freedom of behavior for him. Under authoritarianism, citizens are allowed everything except politics. Authoritarianism allows for the existence and functioning of a narrow sphere of civil society, free from total regulation by the state;

A unique feature of totalitarianism is the cult of personality of the leader. The dictator-leader does not depend in any way on ruling elite, forms it himself, guided by certain principles personnel policy to avoid conspiracies and palace coups. Under authoritarianism, power can be personalized or exercised by a group of individuals in which the dictator is “first among equals,” but is neither omnipotent nor omnipotent. In an authoritarian regime, a dictator may be removed from office as a result of a power struggle in the upper echelon political elite. Under totalitarianism, the leader is completely independent of her.

Authoritarianism is a regime of limited pluralism. Although in a reduced form, opposition and dissidence are allowed in authoritarian states. Totalitarianism does not accept any opposition and strives for its physical destruction;

Authoritarian states do not enforce a single ideology and are most often based on the concept of national interest. The dictator does not seek to justify his political decisions with lofty aspirations to change the world and achieve a “bright future” or heaven on earth. Traditional authoritarian states are “paternalistic” in nature: the king (leader) rules the people as one family- power was given to him either from God, or he received it as the savior of the people from some catastrophe ( economic crisis, famine, civil war, intervention, etc.). An authoritarian form of government can be called a pragmatic dictatorship in contrast to a totalitarian ideocratic dictatorship. A totalitarian dictatorship can also be called a mobilization dictatorship; it is characterized by the ideological mobilization of the entire population to carry out the tasks set by the authorities in the name of a higher goal. Totalitarianism requires activity from every member of society, strong support for the political regime and its ideology, a clear demonstration of popular love for the leader and hatred for his enemies; it does not tolerate passivity, apathy and indifference. Authoritarianism is much more liberal in this regard.

Authoritarian regimes can be (though not necessarily) repressive. At the same time, systematic violence may be practiced in some states (Francoism initial period, Guatemalan dictatorship). But in authoritarian states repressions are not as widespread as under totalitarianism. The army can play an independent role in an authoritarian regime and even overthrow the dictator. Under totalitarianism, the army is completely subordinate to the leader. Finally, an authoritarian regime retains some elements of democracy, while a totalitarian regime excludes any democratic manifestations.

Authoritarian regime- a state-political structure, the basis of which is strong personal power - monarchy, dictatorship. An authoritarian regime arises, as a rule, when the need to solve the problems of modernizing the economy and accelerating the pace of development of the country comes up on the agenda. The destruction of old socio-economic institutions entails a polarization of forces, a long-term political crisis. Dealing with these problems is not always possible through democratic means.

Political rights and freedom of citizens and public political organizations under an authoritarian regime, they are narrowed and opposition is prohibited. Political behavior citizens and political organizations is strictly regulated. The election of state bodies is limited. Parliament turns into a decorative institution, and sometimes is completely liquidated. Power is concentrated in the hands of the head of state, to whom the government is subordinate. This regime does not have a mechanism for the succession of power; it is transferred through bureaucratic means, often using armed forces and violence.

Authoritarianism usually carries with it the possibility of evolution towards democracy. At the same time, a certain autonomy of civil society is preserved, some of its spheres remain free from total regulation. Stabilization of economic and social development reduces polarization in society, promotes the formation of a center political forces, which creates the preconditions for the transition of authoritarian power to democratic structures.

The main varieties of modern authoritarian regimes– oligarchic and constitutional-authoritarian. Under the conditions of an oligarchic regime, a multi-party system is formally allowed, but in fact only parties of the ruling class operate. The election of parliament remains, but various restrictions lead to the fact that only representatives of the ruling elite can be elected to it. In principle, even the separation of powers is recognized, but in fact the dominant role in political life belongs not to the legislative, but to the executive power.

A constitutional-authoritarian regime differs little from an oligarchic regime. The constitution may include provisions (or issue separate laws) banning all political parties except the ruling one. Sometimes restrictions are placed on other parties or measures are taken to prevent the occurrence of democratic parties. Parliament is formed on a corporate basis, a significant part of its members are appointed rather than elected, the executive power reigns supreme, the key positions are occupied by the president

Civil society.

Civil society- the level of development of society, which is characterized by unconditional respect for human rights, the implementation of responsibilities, and the responsibility of members of society for its fate. Civil society is a system of non-state public relations and institutions, enabling a person to realize his civil rights and expressing the diverse needs, interests and values ​​of members of society.

The elements and values ​​of civil society developed in Europe already in the 18th century. For the first time the concept civil society" And " state"The English philosopher tried to distinguish J. Locke(1632-1704). In his opinion, the state could only claim the scope of powers that were sanctioned by the social contract between citizens. His ideas were continued in the contractual concept of J.-J. Rousseau. Subsequently, the concept of “civil society” was developed in the works of G. Hegel and K. Marx. According to K. Marx, civil society is “the true source and theater of all history.”

IN modern conditions civil society acts as a variety of relationships between free and equal individuals not mediated by the state in market conditions and a democratic legal state. In civil society, unlike government agencies It is not vertical (hierarchical), but horizontal connections that predominate - relations of competition and solidarity between legally free and equal partners.

The basis of the process of formation of civil society is the priority of the rights of the individual as an independent subject. Autonomy of society - important element civil society, meaning independence from the state of various public spheres and associations (economics, trade unions, press, science, associations of citizens and individual professions, religious associations). The role of the state in relation to these social agents should be limited to establishing the most general framework in the form of law, regulating the rules that everyone must follow so as not to jeopardize the rights and freedoms of other citizens.

Signs civil law

Civil society is in close contact and interacts with the rule of law, which is characterized by the following features:

the rule of law in all spheres of society:

separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial;

mutual responsibility of the individual and the state;

the reality of the rights and freedoms of a citizen, their legal and social security;

political and ideological pluralism, which consists in the free functioning of various parties, organizations, associations operating within the framework of the constitution;

the presence of different ideological concepts, movements, views;

law and order in society.

Constitutional state is a state that serves the needs of civil society and the legal economy, the purpose of which is to ensure freedom and prosperity.

It should be noted that civil society is a necessary element of modernization Russian society. Over the years of reform in Russia there have been significant shifts towards the formation of civil society. Thus, I manage to create an economic foundation based on a variety of forms of ownership and socially oriented market economy, real political pluralism, assert freedom of speech. However, this is not yet enough.

According to experts, for the successful construction of civil society in Russia it is necessary: ​​1) institutionalization of Russian society; 2) establishing basic order in society: 3) forming whole system democratic legal norms capable of regulating the most important areas social life.

The structure of civil society covers:

Non-state socio-economic relations and institutions (property, labor, entrepreneurship);

A set of producers independent from the state (private firms, etc.);

Public associations and organizations;

Political parties and movements;

The sphere of education and non-state education;

System of non-state funds mass media;

Church, etc.

Civil society manifests itself in social, economic, political, spiritual and information systems. In this sense:

The social system is a complex of objectively formed communities of people (family, public organizations, layers, classes, nations, etc.) and the relationships between them;

An economic system is a complex of economic relations that people enter into in the process of implementing relations of ownership, production, distribution, exchange and consumption of the total social product;

The political system is a complex of certain political subjects (local governments, political parties, socio-political movements, other public associations) and the relationships between them;

The spiritual system is a complex of relevant cultural, educational, scientific and religious institutions, within the framework and with the help of which spiritual relationships are realized;

Information system is a complex of structures associated with the circulation of information in given society(primarily non-state media).

1. Control over freedom of thought and suppression of dissent.

J. Orwell wrote about this: “totalitarianism has encroached on individual freedom in a way that could never have been imagined before. It is important to be aware that its control over thought pursues not only prohibitive, but also constructive goals. It is not just forbidden to express - even admit - certain, but it is dictated what exactly the person should think. how much he controls their actions."

2. Division of the population into “ours” and “not ours”.

It is common for people - and it is almost a law human nature- they converge faster and easier on negative grounds, on hatred of enemies, envy of those who have a better life, than on a constructive task. The enemy (both internal and external) is an integral part of the arsenal of a totalitarian leader. IN totalitarian state Terror and fear are used not only as a tool to destroy and intimidate real and imaginary enemies, but also as a normal, everyday tool for controlling the masses. For this purpose, the atmosphere is constantly cultivated and reproduced civil war. Also, totalitarianism must constantly demonstrate its successes to citizens, prove the feasibility of the proclaimed plans, or find convincing evidence for the population why these advances have not been implemented. And the search for internal enemies fits very well here. The old, long-known principle applies here: “Divide and conquer.” Those who are “not with us, and therefore against us” must be subject to reprisals. Terror was unleashed without any apparent reason and preliminary provocation. In Nazi Germany it was unleashed against the Jews. In the Soviet Union, terror was not limited to race, and anyone could be its target.

3. Totalitarianism creates a special type of person.

The desire of totalitarianism to remake human nature is one of the main distinctive features it from all other forms of traditional despotism, absolutism and authoritarianism. From this point of view, totalitarianism is a phenomenon exclusively of the twentieth century. It sets the task of completely remaking and transforming a person in accordance with ideological guidelines, constructing a new type of personality with a special mental make-up, special mentality, mental and behavioral characteristics, through standardization, unification of the individual principle, its dissolution in the mass, reducing all individuals to some average denominator, suppression personal beginning in man. Thus, the ultimate goal of creating a “new man” is the formation of an individual completely devoid of any autonomy. Such a person does not even need to be managed; he will govern himself, guided by those dogmas that are this moment are moving forward ruling elite. However, in practice, the implementation of this policy gave rise to denunciation, the writing of anonymous letters and led to the moral decay of society.

4. The state even interferes in a person’s personal life.

IN totalitarian society everything: science, art, economics, politics, philosophy, morality and relations between the sexes is guided by one key idea. One of the most important indicators of the penetration of totalitarian principles into all spheres of life is “newspeak” - newspeak, which is a means of making it difficult, if not impossible, to express other forms of thought. F. Hayek wrote: “... the easiest way to convince people of the authenticity of the values ​​they are forced to serve is to explain to them that these are the very values ​​in which they have always believed, it’s just that these values ​​were previously misunderstood. Feature the entire intellectual atmosphere of totalitarian countries: a complete distortion of language, substitution of the meaning of words designed to express the ideals of the new system."

However, these weapons ultimately turn against the regime. Since people are forced to adapt to the irrationalism of language, they are forced to lead an existence in which it is impossible to follow official instructions, but it is necessary to pretend to be guided by them. This gives rise to double standard in the behavior of a totalitarian person. Phenomena appear, called by J. Orwell “doublethink” - doublethink and “thoughtcrime” - thought crime. That is, a person’s life and consciousness seem to be bifurcated: in society he is a completely loyal citizen, but in private life he shows complete indifference and distrust of the regime. Thus, one of the fundamental principles"classical" totalitarianism: total unity of the masses and the party, the people and the leader.