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The Origins of Totalitarianism

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The Origins of Totalitarianism

By: Hannah Arendt
Narrated by: Nadia May
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About this listen

A recognized classic and definitive account of its subject, The Origins of Totalitarianism traces the emergence of modern racism as an "ideological weapon for imperialism," begining with the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe in the nineteenth century and continuing through the New Imperialism period from 1884 to World War I.

In her analysis of the institutions and operations of totalitarian movements, Arendt focuses on the two genuine forms of totalitarian government in the twentieth century: Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia, which she adroitly recognizes as two sides of the same coin rather than opposing philosophies of the Right and Left. From this vantage point, she discusses the transformation of classes into masses, the role of propaganda, and the use of terror essential to this form of government. In her brilliant concluding chapter, she discusses the nature of individual isolation and loneliness as preconditions for total domination.

©1966 Hannah Arendt (P)2007 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Movements Philosophy Political Science Politics & Government World Thought-Provoking Imperialism War

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All stars
Most relevant  
It beats the propaganda we are force fed on. If we can only learn that there are no monster just inadequate human beings.

A must to understand history

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Very thorough treatment of the subject that requires attention & concentration but well worth it

Hard but interesting

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Why are the Jews the most persecuted and hated minority in Europe?
How did Hitler and Stalin organise their political controls and why did they work so effectively?
What does a prophecy mean in the mouth of a Totalitarian leader?

The parallels with the politics of 2019 are unsettling.

Lengthy, but worth the slog.

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Would you listen to The Origins of Totalitarianism again? Why?

Hanna Arendt gives us great insight into European history, espesially the period 1800-1950. Why the first generation of educated young Jews, leaves the profession of their parents, and become revolutionaries, and end up in gulags and concentration camps. She also lists the differences and similarities, between Nazi-Germany and Soviet-Union.

What other book might you compare The Origins of Totalitarianism to, and why?

"The Road to Serfdom" by F.A. Hayek
"In the Shadow of Satan" by Janusz Subczyski

What does Nadia May bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Clear and easy listening.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

A must read, for people interested in history.

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I was looking forward to listening to this book but found it disappointing. it seemed to me like viewing history through a narrow slit even though it was explained that anti semitism fur example need not just apply to anti semitism and can mean any similarly targetted victims. I'm also unsure about the view that we have never seen such tyranny as we have in contemporary and near contemporary times. I would concede that technology has made tyranny more effective but not that our recent times are necessarily any more tyrannical by intent or purpose.

history through a narrow slit

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struggled to finish, but understood there was valuable instead so plowed on.

feel it repeats itself.

informative but dull

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I was directed to this book via Twitter as a good way of understanding both history and where we might be headed in the UK and USA right now. This is a very comprehension lesson and more people should read it and take note.

Excellent history to fast track your understanding

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This was not an easy read, good theories but sometimes feels a bit over analysing. Nonetheless good and interesting read

Excellent narrative of totalitarian regimes

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Hannah Arendt's dissection of Totalitarianism (in all of its aspects) is structured as an essay but is accessible to any audience. Her reasoning is clear and its structure becomes more and more evident which each ensuing passage. Nadia May's enunciation is equally clear and engaging.

Detailed yet lucid.

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Astonishingly insightful, thought-provoking, and still worryingly relevant - another book I should have read decades ago. Clear, readable, and extremely impressive.

While the sections on totalitarianism remain scarily contemporary in this ongoing era of post-truth politics and populist demagoguery, and the chapters on anti-Semitism similarly relevant with the ongoing arguments about opposition to Israel's actions in Gaza, I was surprised to find the section on imperialism the most fascinating.

In part, this was because I'd just finished Caroline Elkins' book 'Legacy of Violence', all about how the British Empire pioneered many horrific techniques later used by totalitarians (and terrorists), which could have done with much more explicit reference to Arendt's analysis here to better make it's case.

But what most struck me about the rise and spread of empire - especially the idea of growth for growth's sake, with expansion and future potential the focus more than current profit - was how relevant it is to tech industry business models over the last 20+ years. If someone's not already written something applying Arendt's thinking to big tech, maybe I should...

The narrator does a good job throughout, bar the occasional odd pronunciation - most notably the (very frequent) use of "none" instead of "non".

Worryingly contemporary

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