Yesterday in our discussion of the Cold War and the prospect of Cold War II, we raised the topic of totalitarianism. That view, in which the government exerts control over the totality of its citizens’ lives is in contrast to a free society.
I stumbled across an article on the topic of whether or not the United States is headed in the direction of totalitarianism. The authors of Totalitarianism, American Style, Glenn Elmers and Ted Richards, think that we are. They are answering another article, Is the United States Totalitarian?, by Gabriel Schoenfeld, who is convinced that we are not.
Both sides make use of a classic scholarly treatment published in 1956, Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy, by Carl Friedrich and Zbigniew Brzezinski (who would later become President Jimmy Carter’s National Security Advisor). This book gives six characteristics of a totalitarian regime.
Schoenfeld cites these criteria to argue that they do not apply to the United States, whereas Elmers and Richards argue that they do. Either way, we should at least know what the defining characteristics are so that we can work to avoid them. I will list the criteria. The comments are from me:
(1) A Mandatory Ideology. The concern for “political correctness” derives from the necessity under Soviet totalitarianism to make sure that every utterance conforms to the party line. That the term still has currency in the United States shows that a mandatory ideology is emerging. Disapproval of homosexuality, transgenderism, feminism, and other woke principles can lead to “cancellation,” which at least is not as bad as “liquidation.” This ideology is not accepted everywhere, but it reigns in academia, media, corporations, and other centers of power.
(2) Single Party with Autocratic Leader. Rule by a single party is the dream of both Democrats and Republicans. The prospect of an autocratic leader is why many Americans fear and many Americans support Donald Trump, though he is far from being a true dictator. But presidents of both parties have been expanding the powers of the Executive Branch, with their executive orders and their use of their administrations’ bureaucracies to impose not-legislated laws and non-judicial punishments. Elmers and Richards say what we currently have is a “uniparty,” in which the differences between Democrats and Republicans are minor. But there is surely political polarization in this country, and that might actually be a good thing, protecting us from a hallmark of totalitarianism.
(3) Government monopoly on communications. We don’t have this in the sense of the state operating or controlling all newspapers, television stations, film studios, and online media. But we have something that is stranger. Much–not all, but much–of our communications media nevertheless tend to adhere to the current government’s party line and to the mandatory ideology, not because they are forced to, but freely.
(4) Government monopoly on force. There are lots of people opposed to the Second Amendment, but it continues to hold for now.
(5) Secret police hounding dissidents. We have nothing like the KGB, but there are too many accounts of the FBI, CIA, and IRS hounding “dissidents” to the mandatory ideology and opponents of the party in power to be complacent.
(6) Central economic planning. Both Republicans and Democrats are now embracing “industrial policy.” That is, turning to the government to plan and control the economy rather than the free market. As in mandating electric vehicles, funding the computer chip industry, and picking other winners and losers in the economy.
Of course we do not have a fully-blown totalitarian system now. But the mindset that would like to impose totalitarianism is not uncommon, and it is sometimes getting its way. This calls for eternal vigilance.
Photo: Zbigniew Brzezinski (1977) By Kightlinger, Jack E. Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4616131
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