totalitarian
State controls everything
Totalitarian describes a political system in which the state holds absolute authority over all aspects of public and private life.
A totalitarian regime typically features one-party rule, suppression of dissent, state-controlled media, and intrusive surveillance: totalitarian governments, totalitarian control.
The noun totalitarianism names this system of governance.
The word emerged in the twentieth century to describe fascist and communist states.
Ruler with total control
- tyrantCruel, absolute ruler
- despotRuler with absolute power
- autocratSole wielder of power
- strongmanPowerful lifter or despot
supreme leader · chairman · generalissimo · caudillo · oppressor · overlord · potentate · cult figure
Oppressive, absolute governance
- despotismAbsolute one-person rule
- autocracyRule by one
- dictatorshipUnchecked single-ruler government
- authoritarianismConcentrated, unchecked governmental power
absolutism · fascism · Nazism · Stalinism · Maoism · Leninism · Bolshevism · junta
Systematic observation of subjects
- Big BrotherTotalitarian surveillance authority
- secret policeClandestine state security apparatus
- NKVDStalin-era secret police
- StasiEast German secret police
Gestapo · informants · monitoring · wiretapping · censorship · suppression · coercion · enforcement
Systematic uncritical belief instillation
- brainwashingCoercive psychological manipulation
- disinformationIntentional deceptive falsehoods
- misinformationFalse data spread unintentionally
- PravdaSoviet state newspaper
state media · newspeak · doublethink · thoughtcrime · revisionism · cult of personality · rallies · slogans
State of being identical
- homogeneityState of sameness throughout
- groupthinkConformity-driven poor decisions
- standardizationImplementing uniform technical specifications
- assimilationAbsorbing into a whole
obedience · submission · monoculture · collectivization · regimentation · lockstep · unanimity · self-criticism
Unchallengeable official beliefs
- doctrineEstablished body of teachings
- orthodoxyAdherence to accepted beliefs
- MarxismClass-based revolutionary philosophy
- collectivismGroup primacy doctrine
statism · nationalism · jingoism · utopianism · fanaticism · zealotry · true believer · party line
dictator
Ruler with total control
strongman · supreme leader · chairman · generalissimo · caudillo · oppressor · overlord · potentate · cult figure · personality cult
tyranny
Oppressive, absolute governance
- despotismAbsolute one-person rule
- autocracyRule by one
- dictatorshipUnchecked single-ruler government
authoritarianism · absolutism · fascism · Nazism · Stalinism · Maoism · Leninism · Bolshevism · junta · oligarchy
surveillance
Systematic observation of subjects
- Big BrotherTotalitarian surveillance authority
- secret policeClandestine state security apparatus
- NKVDStalin-era secret police
Stasi · Gestapo · informants · monitoring · wiretapping · censorship · suppression · coercion · enforcement · compliance
indoctrination
Systematic uncritical belief instillation
- brainwashingCoercive psychological manipulation
- disinformationIntentional deceptive falsehoods
- misinformationFalse data spread unintentionally
Pravda · state media · newspeak · doublethink · thoughtcrime · revisionism · cult of personality · rallies · slogans · posters
uniformity
State of being identical
- homogeneityState of sameness throughout
- groupthinkConformity-driven poor decisions
- standardizationImplementing uniform technical specifications
assimilation · obedience · submission · monoculture · collectivization · regimentation · lockstep · unanimity · self-criticism · denunciation
dogma
Unchallengeable official beliefs
- doctrineEstablished body of teachings
- orthodoxyAdherence to accepted beliefs
- MarxismClass-based revolutionary philosophy
collectivism · statism · nationalism · jingoism · utopianism · fanaticism · zealotry · true believer · party line · ideological purity
- Dystopia1984, Nineteen Eighty-Four, dystopian fiction, Brave New World, surveillance state
- politicalconservative, liberal, moderate, centrist, leftist
- authorityleaders, ruler, rulers, monarch, bosses
- oppressivestifling, suffocating, smothering, crushing, repressive
- German HistoryNazi, Prussia, Saxony, Reichstag, Napoleonic Wars
- autocratsautocrat, despot, dictator, tyrant, strongman
totalitariandemocratic
Government by the people
libertarian · free · liberal · republican · pluralistic
totalitarianlimited
Restricted in extent
minimal · laissez-faire · hands-off · permissive · decentralized
totalitarianlibertarian
Anti-statist political adherent
free · individualist · autonomous · emancipatory · rights-based
- totalitarian regimesStates with absolute control
- totalitarian governmentState with absolute power