The meaning of totalitarianism in Hannah Arendt´s thought

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to trace the meaning of the philosophical concept of
totalitarianism in the work of the philosopher Hannah Arendt to establish whether
it is still valid to talk about this concept today and thus identify the link of the term
with some contemporary issues. The work analyzes the characteristics of totalitarian
regimes, which are based on terror and domination. From the interpretive analysis
of the work The Origins of Totalitarianism and The Human Condition, in the first
section, some essential concepts of this philosopher’s thought are addressed that
allow us to understand how totalitarianism precludes the authentic meaning of
politics. In the second section, on the other hand, some sociopolitical spectacles
that present some features of this phenomenon are analyzed, and the validity
of this concept is discussed. Finally, in the third section, the importance of the
philosophical understanding of totalitarianism is pointed out to avoid the repetition
of this phenomenon, which goes against the freedom and plurality of humans.