Definition of TOTALITARIANISM

totalitarianism

Meanings

Plural: totalitarianisms

Noun

  • a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)
  • the principle of complete and unrestricted power in government
  • A system of government in which the people have virtually no authority and the state wields absolute control, for example, a dictatorship.

Origin / Etymology

1938, from totalitarian + -ism, modeled after Italian totalitarismo (1923, by Giovanni Amendola) and German terms such as Totalstaat (1927, The Concept of the Political, by Carl Schmitt).

Synonyms

absolutism, authoritarianism, Caesarism, despotism, dictatorship, monocracy, one-man rule, shogunate, Stalinism, totalism, tyranny

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