cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/29028246
this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2025
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In some regard, you could argue every state is totalitarian, no?
Its a meaningless term created by someone who said africans should be enslaved because they are of a lower caste in defence of an actual nazi in a war crimes trial.
You should learn the context of the words you speak.
No need to be so cold.
I have a context of the word totalitarianism, I’m sorry it doesn’t include the person who you think came up with it. If you understand etymology you should understand that the word was, yes invented, but involves the word “totalità” and was purely meant to convey the idea of total control by the state over all aspects of life, political, social, and private. It was in fact used to describe the fascist regime by Benito Mussolini. (Link me any evidence of the contrary in case I’m wrong)
I’m saying generally, as a leftist, I wouldn’t want a state that tells me what to do and what to think (and I wouldn’t want that for you either my friend, but who am I to say that).
Edit: To loop it back to my OG comment, in most cases, and history proves this, a totalitarian state kills.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/hannah-arendt-white-supremacist-456007
'As a leftist' you should perhaps stop using terminology used by a white supremacist.
I ask for evidence that the term wasn’t used to describe a fascist state and you send me… a news article? A news article that just plainly says “yea, they were racist”. It’s a fucking term dude. We’re talking about the term not the person and it has a definition, and I’m saying I don’t want a future with totalitarianism.
What the hell are you on about? Are you denying that totalitarianism exists? Oh sorry, can’t use that term. Are you denying that states that controls its citizens exist? No more condescending comments. Tell me.
Every country has at some point been called "totalitarian" by its detractors, and no country self-identifies as such. It's so imprecise and vague it's useless for serious discussion, especially when there are actual ideologies (that various governments claim, and that have some sort of useful definition) you can talk about instead.
The only thing it is useful for -- as others here have pointed out -- is clumsily equating fascism and communism because both systems exercise state power.
The excersizing of state power by liberal societies, that actively kills millions of people world wide is never considered in these arguments because its a form of exceptionalism.
You gonna start telling us about the ubermench as well?
Come on lmao, the term means literally nothing, it can be applied to any state that holds a monopoly of violence and has only ever been historically used to try to paint socialist countries as being the same as the Nazi state (which itself is based off the American state)
All it does is flag you as a zionist sucker offer.
And I brought her up as the most famous example of the word being used was in defence of a Nazi that she was shagging.
I'm thinking it's a cucked left-libertarian that's about to bust out the word "statism".
The first hint was mentioning Stalin's purges. It's always the Stalin strawman.