Question

Discuss laws, ethics, and morality in a totalitarian society. Give specific examples to support your perspective.

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) Laws – The regulatory bodies within a totalitarian state have the complete authority to suppress individual freedoms that might be a threat or even an expression against the state. In the early 1920’s the word ‘totalitario’ was coined by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini to describe the new Fascist regime.

The characteristics of the law, in a totalitarian state, are that a single party government is in complete control of the house, the police, the military and the media. This is when one head of the party has absolute power to run the country which almost equates to having an absolute monarch or rather an oppressor.

Ethics – In the words of Mussolini, totalitarianism is “all within the state, none outside the state, none against the state.” Such a statement indicates that, at the top levels of government, there shall be no thriving party rivals that go against the totalitarian leader. At the mid-levels of society, it means that the media would be controlled by the party and would not have the right to report any facts that go against the party. At the final level, it would mean that any individual holding a rally or even perhaps an opinion that expresses displeasure against the regime would be severely apprehended for it.

Morality – Any nation or sovereignty becomes immoral when the rights of the populace are suppressed. Furthermore, it is immoral to be suppressive towards any individual, simply because they might disagree with you or express their opinion about the management.

A society becomes immoral when the freedom of speech, freedom of expression and right to equality are thwarted. A ruling party should be formed not only by the people but also for the people and their rights. Any party that is formulated solely for the purpose of exercising power and agenda is immoral according to the standards of a democracy.

An example of such a state is, Italy under the rule of Benito Mussolini, who is almost like the father of totalitarianism. Although, there are other examples of totalitarianism, like the regime of Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union, Hitler and Germany, Mao Zedong and China. The regime of all of these governments had the distinct characteristic of the lack of free press. This was done so that the public would remain in the dark about the devious nature of the ruling party. Furthermore, without the media functioning as the watchdog of the society, there was no fourth estate that would uphold the value of truth and ignite the fire for reformation in the society.