Understanding Totalitarianism and Its Impact

Aug 26, 2024

Lecture on Totalitarianism

Key Points

  • The lecture discusses perceptions of Nazi and Communist symbols and ideologies, comparing reactions to the swastika and the hammer and sickle.
  • A proposition is made that ideologies based on Marxism killed at least 100 million people in the 20th century.
  • The speaker notes that most people have a more intensely negative reaction to Hitler than to Stalin.

Moral Comparisons

  • Many believe that National Socialism is morally worse than Marxism-Leninism.
  • The speaker discusses the visceral impact of Nazi vs. Communist doctrines, suggesting racial superiority as a clear, singular, repugnant doctrine in Nazism, while Communist horrors are less clear-cut.
  • There was a universalizing tendency among Communists perceived as less morally reprehensible than the ethnonationalism of Nazis.

Historical Ignorance and Responsibility

  • Before the Russian Revolution, there was ignorance about the catastrophic outcome of Socialist Utopia attempts.
  • Authors like Dostoevsky had warned about the potential dangers of such ideologies.
  • The speaker criticizes those who claim 'that wasn’t real communism' and stresses the importance of taking responsibility for the consequences of past radical leftist policies.

Ongoing Relevance

  • Today’s political climate sees similar patterns, as evidenced by the situation in Venezuela where starvation is not listed as a cause of death.
  • The speaker challenges those on the left to distinguish themselves from radical policies that led to past catastrophes.

The Role of the Left

  • The lecture touches on beneficial contributions of leftist policies, such as improvements in labor rights and health care in Canada.
  • There is a division within leftist movements between genuine efforts to aid the working class and peevish resentment towards the successful.

Conclusion

  • Historical experiments in implementing Communist doctrines have universally led to disaster, irrespective of the country or context.
  • There's an ethical obligation to learn from these past mistakes to avoid future repetitions of such catastrophic outcomes.