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03 THE CRISIS OF DEMOCRACY AND THE RISE OF TOTALITARIANISM, image, image,…
03 THE CRISIS OF DEMOCRACY AND THE RISE OF TOTALITARIANISM
Different factors eroded parliamentary democracies in the 1920s
The main one was the crisis of the capitalist system
This was manifested in Europe both by post-war difficulties
and in the recession that started in 1929
The Soviet Union was not so affected by the Great Depression
as it had a different economic system
As a result of Soviet prestige and the unemployment and misery generated by the capitalist crisis
Trade unions and communist parties became stronger
There was also great political instability in many countries
Members of the wealthy and middle classes started supporting dictatorial models
And rejected the existence of workers’ organisations
At the end of the 1930s, dictatorships in Europe predominated over democracies
Some dictatorships were totalitarian regimes with some common characteristics
Dictatorship and the absence of individual freedoms and information
Exaltation of the dictator and a personality cult
An all-embracing state with power that controlled all facets of citizens’ lives
An official state ideology
A single mass party that represented the official ideology and mobilisation of the masses in support of that ideology
Repression of any idea or activity that differs from or questions the power of the state, the party and its official ideology
System of terror and violence, with a powerful political police force to ensure critics are repressed
