What is the difference between authoritarian and totalitarian dictatorships?
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The main difference between totalitarian and authoritarian is that the totalitarian regimes exert total control over the lives and freedoms of citizens while the authoritarian regimes give certain individual freedoms to citizens. Show
Totalitarianism and authoritarianism are two forms of government types in the world. Both these forms share similarities in several contexts such as the nature of their governance over the citizens. Key Areas Covered1. What is Totalitarian Key TermsAuthority, Authoritarian, Government Forms, Totalitarian, Politics  What is TotalitarianTotalitarian government or totalitarianism is the form of government where the state exerts its power on all aspects of the lives of citizens, thereby limiting all the freedoms. Hence, the power of the state in this type of government is unlimited. Consequently, this form of government requires all the citizens to be completely subservient to the decisions and rules of the state. The Italian dictator Benito Mussolini coined the term ‘totalitarian’ during early 1920. He used this form of governance to describe the nature of the fascist state of Italy. He emphasized the nature of totalitarian government as “all within the state, none outside the state, and none against the state.” Figure 1: Benito Mussolini Characteristics of a Totalitarian GovernmentA totalitarian government has distinguishable characteristics such as;
Figure 2: Life of the citizens in the totalitarian rule of North Korea under Kim dynasty Hence, in a totalitarian rule, virtually all public, as well as the private life of the citizens, are controlled by the state. In other words, the government’s range of control over the people is virtually unlimited. The government controls all aspects of the economy, politics, culture and society, education, religion, and even reproductive and moral rights. Moreover, fear is a necessary tool used by the ruling party in a totalitarian government. What is AuthoritarianAuthoritarian government or authoritarianism is the form of government in which strict obedience from the people to the authority of the state is required even though they have a limited degree of personal freedom. As a result, the citizens have the freedom of individual preferences and beliefs in comparison to that in a totalitarian regime. However, the political process, as well as all individual freedoms such as freedom of speech and public policies are controlled by the government without any constitutional accountability. Figure 03: Authoritarian rule of Cuba under Fidel Castro Characteristics of an Authoritarian GovernmentSome significant characteristics of an authoritarian government are;
More importantly, unlike totalitarian regimes, authoritarian regimes have less influence over the individual beliefs and preferences of citizens. Similarities Between Totalitarian and Authoritarian
Difference Between Totalitarian and AuthoritarianDefinitionTotalitarian, totalitarian rule or totalitarianism is a form of government where the state exerts its power on all aspects of the lives of citizens, thereby limiting all the freedoms. In contrast, authoritarian, authoritarian rule or authoritarianism is a form of government where strict obedience from the people to the authority of the state is required even though they have a limited degree of personal freedom. Thus, this is the main difference between totalitarian and authoritarian. ControlControl of the state is also a major difference between totalitarian and authoritarian government. The control of the state over the citizens in a totalitarian government is dictatorial as it involves complete subservience of its citizens to the state, limiting all individual freedoms. On the other hand, the control of the state over the citizens in an authoritarian government is not dictatorial, but authoritative; hence, there are several freedoms the citizens enjoy in such a rule. Influence on CitizensThe influence of the state on the citizens is very high in a totalitarian ruling since the state controls all individual freedoms, including their personal choices and beliefs. However, there are several freedoms such as personal beliefs and choices for citizens in an authoritarian rule. Hence, this is also a difference between totalitarian and authoritarian rules. Individual FreedomIndividual freedom is another difference between totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. There is no individual freedom in a totalitarian state whereas there is limited personal freedom in an authoritarian state. ExamplesSome popular totalitarian governments and rulers in the world include the Soviet Union under Joseph Starlin, Nazi rule in Germany under Adolf Hitler, North Korea under Kim dynasty, China under Mao Se Tung, and Iraq under Saddam Hussain. Meanwhile, some popular authoritarian government and rulers in the world include Venezuela under Hugo Chávez, and Cuba under Fidel Castro. ConclusionThough both forms of governments have several similarities such as control over the individual freedoms by a single ruler of a political group, there is a d distinguishable difference between totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. The main difference between totalitarian and authoritarian is that totalitarian governments exert total control over the lives and freedoms of citizens, while authoritarian governments give certain individual freedoms to the citizens. What are the differences between authoritarianism and totalitarianism?So, the authoritarian system wants full political power, but does not go beyond that. The totalitarian rule system, on the other hand, wants power over EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING. They seek power beyond governmental rule and begin to intrude into the Ideology of everyone under their rule.
Is dictatorship and authoritarian the same?Dictatorships are authoritarian or totalitarian and can be classified as military dictatorships, one-party dictatorships, personalist dictatorships, or absolute monarchies. The term dictatorship originates from its use in the Roman Republic.
What is an authoritarian dictatorship?An authoritarian regime has "a concentration of power in a leader or an elite not constitutionally responsible to the people". Unlike totalitarian states, they will allow social and economic institutions not under governmental control, and tend to rely on passive mass acceptance rather than active popular support.
What is the main difference between totalitarianism and authoritarianism quizlet?Authoritarianism is a more general form of political system, featuring centralized control over many aspects of the daily life in a society. Totalitarianism is simply a more extreme form of this, featuring even more control and less individual freedom.
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