Totalitarianism and the individual using the book Under a Cruel Star Essay

Totalitarianism and the individual using the book Under a Cruel Star and two other readings - Essay Example horrible living conditions and galling transportations can be used to describe the camp as trying to establish one’s life and a family was hardly possible due to starvation and violence. Another form of totalitarian form of governance was in Moscow where purge was conducted as authors were controlled over the content with which they are to publish. Those carrying out the purge are described as lacking sophistication and stupidity. Under controversial circumstances, books were withdrawn and example being Lenin’s book because they were listed under Marx’s â€Å"Communist Manifesto† with Riazanov’s forward, but in many other instances this explanation breaks down. The â€Å"Authoritative† and â€Å"Educated† bunch of people were forming purging committees and recommending the removal of controversial readings. Under â€Å"philosophy† the Leningrad instructions propose that â€Å"idealistic philosophy should be removed entirely fro m circulation and this would leave only Kant’s and Hegel’s works in circulation since their writing and ideologies went in line with the governing authorities. Questions were raised over the withdrawal of many writers especially those who by the humblest and most general assessment are on a higher level and less pernicious than the hundreds of junky kinds of belles-lettres that Gosizdat put out even at this time. The kind of leadership being experienced was resulting in a totalitarian form as the main instructions of Glavpolitprosvet are more restrained and balanced, TBTW. The recommendation was to remove all the prerevolutionary literature that was concerned with upbringing and education, all prerevolutionary mathematics textbooks, all anthologies of Russian literature, collections of pieces for recitation, oral public reading and narrations from the local public libraries to central and pedagogical libraries (Kova?ly 17). On the other hand, Adolf Hitler being an arde nt militarist, during his rule rejected democracy terming it a bankruptcy and promoted an authoritarian form of politics based on the leadership principle. He was of the belief that war was a crucial test of a nation’s vigor and the defeat of Germany in 1918 was not the result of military failure but rather the product of the diseased condition of the German society in general, (Hitler 513). The corruption and weakness that was evident in the country was caused by the diabolical machinations of the Jewish people, whom Hitler had portrayed as a degenerate race engaged in an international conspiracy designed to destroy the national principle binding the German people together as a â€Å"master race† and Hitler then offered himself as the leader of the revitalized militantly nationalist Germany purged of all those who would weaken or diminish the racial purity of the German people. Hitler’s thoughts were centered along an obsessive preoccupation with racial â€Å" hygiene† which according to him was a basis of national strength. According to Hitler (517), the Jewish people with all their apparent intellectual qualities are nevertheless without any culture of their own and the sham culture which the Jew possess today is the property of other people and is mostly spoiled in their hands. He furthers the opinion that the state is a means to an end, and

Analysis of Violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Analysis of Violence - Essay Example We have characters that are considered as the models who defied the violence as a means to achieve their objectives. Probably the paramount example is of Jesus Christ. Records suggest that Jesus was a pacifist and the dictionary definition of Pacifist suggest someone as opposed to the violence. There is a very famous saying associated with Jesus that if someone slaps on your right cheek, give him the left too. His teachings and methods were greatly opposed to the violence as a means to achieve the objectives. Though the political situation at that time was extremely volatile and violence would have been the most natural reaction however the same was not the case. Though evidence suggests that followers of Jesus were violent in their response to Jesus cruxification, however, Jesus himself as a prophet, as a leader and political activist. (Rational Chrastinity, 2008). The second personality which we are going to discuss is the personality of Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi oversaw one of the brightest freedom struggles in the World. The liberation of India from the British rule was one of the longest and bloodiest freedom struggles, however, Gandhi, by adopting the principles of HANSA, refused to adopt violence as the mean to achieve his objectives. His Sataygra or Non-Violence Movement is considered as one of the most organized political efforts of non-violence where the whole India was united in their peaceful protest against the British Occupation. (BBC, 2000). The political history of also further suggests that Gandhi, who was killed by a Hindu, stood for the rights of divided India when India was separated into two states of Pakistan and India. It was because of these reasons that he was awarded the prestigious MAN OF THE CENTURY nomination at the turn of the new century. The similarity between these two personalities is the fact they both adapted peace as the mean of achieving their objectives though at the cost of their own lives.