Opposing Totalitarianism - Essay Example

Opposing Totalitarianism Totalitarianism describes any political system in which a regulates every aspect of public and private life. Some ofthe methods that allow the state to maintain and enforce this kind of control include controlling mass media, which is one of the most effective methods used in attempts to keep things regulated and under control; the restriction of free discussion and criticism; the use of terror tactics; the use of mass surveillance. The state uses every means possible to keep its citizens under the same control.

I am opposed to totalitarianism, as it takes away the freedom and privacy that every citizen deserves. It also puts individuality into question, as well as standards and principles of morality and humanity. If a state wishes to regulate public life, then by all means, but a private life is just that: private. Each person is entitled to running and living their lives in the ways that they see fit and should not have to answer to another party in regards to it. Totalitarianism violates a person’s right to live as they want to.

If they are under constant surveillance, then they are unable to act in the ways that they feel are appropriate for them. They are punished if they “misbehave,” or act in any other way than the one set down by the state. They must abide by the rules that are set for everyone; nobody is an exception to what the state decides upon, and there is no point in trying to reason with the state. The methods used to keep the citizens in check are immoral and cruel. Mass media is controlled for the sole purpose of controlling the citizens.

It has long since been figured out that people are very influenced by what they see in the media, and the state uses this to their advantage. The state also monitors the media that is made public – certain genres and mediums are unacceptable in some areas, and everyone must abide by those wishes. This violates freedom of expression, as well as freedom of speech. The same applies to the methods of restricting free discussion and criticism. Citizens are being forced to keep quiet about how they feel.

The use of terror tactics and mass surveillance takes things too far when it comes to keeping people under control. Attempts are taken to an entirely new level when threats and constant surveillance are sought to tend to citizens. People are frightened into living in ways that the majority of them want nothing to do with. With surveillance as constant as it could be, these people have very little chance of “acting out.” The most well-known examples of totalitarianism include Nazi Germany and Hitler, as well as the Soviet Union.

These could also be considered dictatorships, though the principles were still the same: people were still being controlled, forced to live in ways that were often against their will. In both the cases of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, people were brutally punished – and in many cases, murdered – for acting in the ways that were not planned for them. Any modern cult is a prime example of a state under totalitarianism. The leader sets down rules and laws that must be followed at all times by all people.

These people were separated from others in the sense that they could not live like them, that they had entirely separate rules to abide by. The conditions they were forced to live under were not comfortable or healthy, but they had very little say in the matter. Totalitarianism takes freedom away from people and should not be something that is brought to society. As humans, we all deserve the chance to live freely, to do what we want to do – within reason – and the engage ourselves in the forms of media that we like.

There is no chance of individuality or self-expression when totalitarianism is the way that things are run and controlled.