Free Critical Thinking On Totalitarianism AND Feminism

In these forms of government, the state monopolizes society resources. This is in an effort to control both public and private life, with the use of terror, technology and propaganda. Totalitarian regimes and ideologies reject the existing societies arguing that they are immoral, corrupt and beyond reform. They work on projecting an alternative society in which these shortcomings can be redressed.
They issue alternative plans and programmes to realize order in their preferred society. The ideologies backed by propaganda campaigns require total conformity by people in these societies. Organization of these regimes is in such a way that it ensures total conformity by the people and disregards the role of women in society (Bordo, 115).
Totalitarian regimes are hierarchical and usually dominated by one political party and a single leader, the party has influence all over the country through the party cell organization. The youths, sports groups, and professional supplement the political control of the political party but no women are involved in political activities. Paramilitary secret police units make sure there is compliance by the public. They are known for the effective organization of information and ideas, through the control of the press, television, radio and education at all levels (Arendt 1932).
Totalitarian regimes are different from the dictatorship or tyrant regimes. For totalitarian, they seek to establish complete social, cultural and political control. On the other hand, dictatorships are interested with a limited political control. There are two types of totalitarianism: Nazism and Fascism they evolve from right-wing extremism. Whereas the second type of totalitarianism, Communism evolves from the left wing extremism. Each of these totalitarianism regimes enjoys support from different social classes.
The right wing finds its support from the middle class who want to maintain the economic and social status quo. On the other hand, the left wing often develops from the working class movements seeking to eliminate class distinctions. The right wing totalitarianism supports the enforcement of the private of industrial wealth while the leftwing suggests collective ownership of industrial wealth but women are left out in this.
Totalitarian regimes enjoy and make use of mass political participation, and charismatic cult figures often lead them and in this case it has to be a man. Even after Suffragettes’ struggle for women right to vote and to stand for election no attention was paid to the issue by these regimes. However, in some other countries women got the right to vote over a century ago but it has been a global concern on the actual number of women to political office.
Examples of these cult figures in history identified with feminism include; Mao Tse-tung in China, Josef Stalin of the Soviet Union who led the left wings and Benito Mussolini of Italy and Adolf Hitler of Germany who led the right wing regimes. Right-wing regimes especially the Nazis have risen in advanced societies depending on the traditional economic elites to sail into positions of power. In contrast, left-wing regimes have risen in the relatively less developed countries through unleashing revolutionary terror and violence. Revolutionary terror and violence is also a primary tool in right-wing totalitarian regimes that helps them to ensure compliance to authority.

Women Participation after World War I (connection to a global event)

Women groups existed since 1870 but gained relevance after the First World War. They played a critical role during the war that saw their efforts recognized. They took care of the families while men fought and some working for the supports of the war. This formed the basis to have them included in politics because of their critical contribution during the war (Ikambana 120).
In the nationalistic moves in most countries after world war one; there was an improvement in recognition of women following the role played in the war. This because most nations were not happy with the outcome of World War I and the treaties signed; therefore, they preferred strong states based on martial ethic to revive the spirit of 1914 when world war one began. This meant high levels of nationalism. They accused the ruling government as that of the bourgeois class comprised of the Jews who came to power after world war one and wanted a more nationalistic government (Arendt 1931).
For example in Canada, women got the federal vote in three stages: any woman who had attained twenty-one years of age had the right to cast a vote by the year 1919. The Military Voters Act of allowed women in the armed services and nurses to vote; the Wartime Election Act extended the vote to women who had sons, fathers and husbands serving overseas.
Despite the oppression of women and less recognition by totalitarian regimes, some unique cases served as their stepping-stone in some countries like Canada. A woman was voted in Montiba one of the provinces. Nellie McClung battled it with men in parliament, an act that spearheaded the recognition of women by men in politics. The event was a great success, both politically and financially. She is among the five activists that fought for women rights and recognition in the corridors of justice. This battle was later won in 1929.

How it relates to Dubois and Arendt

The thoughts of feminist theorist Hannah Arendt are puzzling and infuriating. The character distinctions she gives out include freedom and necessity, male and female, public and private life. These are expressed in sharp words; she treats with contempt a doctrine that denies people freedom, a good human life and reality to all but rather to men. Expresses dislike for regimes that exclude others from privilege by violence. She condemns them for their rage failure and impartiality on justice and laws. Arendt’s book is divided into three volumes focusing on anti-Semitism, totalitarianism, and imperialism.
The first volume deals with anti-Semitism and how various historians have dealt with its roots. Arendt argues that some historians have used the scapegoat theory to handle this. Arendt (1930) argues that Jews were used as an innocent scapegoat for the world ills in the totalitarian regimes for example in Germany. Arendt concludes that such arguments were flawed, because they did not take into account the full historical situation of the Jews. Arendt explores the rise of Anti-Semitism from the birth of the nation-state, the emancipation of Jews, the rise of Jews financiers, the infamous Dreyfus affair and the roles of Jews within society.
The idea that Jews are members of a secret society and clubs played a significant role in anti-Semitism historical development. The second volume of Arendt is concerned with imperialism, it discusses racism and racial thinking here theorists like Count Arthur and Social Darwinism are examined. The great pan movements are dealt with and their role in totalitarianism and place of women in the society. The third part of Arendt exploration was on totalitarianism, he examines the role of propaganda, secret police and terrorism in Nazi Germany and Soviet Union in Russia and concludes that the role of totalitarianism was to annihilate the nature of man completely an idea that buys into the global context.
Dubois focus on the black women and Nigro problem formed ground to fight feminism; he argues that the problems of feminism will grow to curse the nation unless people grappled with them resolutely and intelligently. He talks of judicial torture of the 5th century and that the boundary between free citizens and slaves became more blurred, he argues that truth was a hidden secret that had to be wrested from the mere appearance of things. He argues that in the case of torture, it assumes truth was hidden in the human body and had to be extracted through physical coercion (Dubois Alison, Lisa & Charles, 264).

How it relates to me

All human beings are entitled to human rights, some natural and some defined by them (Bordo, 102). The society needs these rights for survival, and no person should be denied these rights based on their gender. Every individual has the right to life and no individual whatsoever should take away their lives. Freedom of expression should be encouraged by leaders and embrace gender equity because we need both our brothers and sisters. This way we develop and discover a good society that we live in to achieve our life goals as human beings. Subjection deters our potential.

Works Cited

Arendt, Hannah. Essays in understanding, 1930-1954: formation, exile, and totalitarianism. Schocken, 2011. Print
Bordo, Susan. Unbearable weight: Feminism, Western culture, and the body. Univ of California Press, 2003. Print
Dubois, Alison L., Lisa Lopez Levers, and Charles P. Esposito. "Existential Perspectives on the Psychology of Evil." Trauma Counseling: Theories and Interventions (2012): 264. Print
Ikambana, Jean-Louis Peta. Mobutu's totalitarian political system: an Afrocentric analysis. Routledge, 2006. Print
Sontag, Susan. "Regarding the Pain of Others: Un Commentaire." (2003): (119-126). Print.
Wolin, Sheldon S. Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism (New in Paper). Princeton University Press, 2010. Print