TOTALITARIANISMS

It is striking that the main political concept coined by the centuryof democracy has been totalitarianism. Since its birth in fascistItaly in the 1920s, the term has made a long journey throughoutdifferent countries and periods. After representing the fascinationfor dictatorships during the interwar years, totalitarianism became akey concept of the æwar of words' waged between democracy andcommunism until the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was æa hot word for aCold War', as termed by the author of this book to convey theimportance of this contest of crossed languages, which also includedimages, symbols and other forms of æsenso-propaganda'.The Closed Society and Its Friends highlights the role played bylanguage in the building of a dystopian civilization conceived as analternative to the open society created by liberalism. The bookanalyses the dimension of totalitarianisms, from fascism and Nazism to communism, as political religions with some common features, such asthe cult of personality and the conception of society as a communityof believers. This fascinating essay on the dark side of the 20thcentury ends with a disturbing epilogue: æIs totalitarianism back?