Articles

Vol. 44 No. 2 (2022)

Negation of civil society in the totalitarian system. Some reflections

Pages: 35-45

PDF (Język Polski)

Abstract

The totalitarian polity is basically one of coercion focused on executing a narrow and uncompromising ideological vision by means of mass terror. Setting up any kind of organization is not possible without the acceptance of the state and thus no grass-roots organizations can exist in a totalitarian state. In other words, any form of civil society (understood as both autonomous from the state and capable of generating social capital) is not possible under totalitarianism.