and Stalinism. For Arendt, the prevalence of totalitar-
ianism in the 20th century and its success in eradicat-
ing political freedom through IDEOLOGY and terror
makes it “the burden of our time.” According to
Arendt, perhaps the most striking feature of totalitari-
anism is the way it intentionally deprives whole com-
munities of their humanity. Unlike despotism, which
creates enemies of the state who are then made to
conform to the power of the ruler, totalitarianism cre-
ates victims who are eliminated from the state by
being deprived of identity, community, and legal sta-
tus. The victims of totalitarianism are rendered
anonymous through the comprehensive eradication of
their human rights and sense of personhood by
means of propaganda and the arbitrary use of legal
and political power. Against these victims, the totali-
tarian state organizes the masses around myths of
common national identity and the willing submission
to a single authority.
Beyond these concerns, Arendt also developed a
theory of politics based on the classical Greek idea that
political action is the sphere of human freedom. In The
Human Condition,Arendt explained that what is dis-
tinctive about the classical conception of politics is its
emphasis on the meaningfulness or value of political
action as such. The Greek conception that political
action is the most meaningful form of human activity
thus stands in opposition to the modern conception of
politics and its narrow focus on political action as a
mere means to some efficient end. In Arendt’s estima-
tion, modern politics is dominated by UTILITARIANISM,
with the result that conformity rather than creativity
has become its guiding principle. She suggested that
the 20th century has been marked by a gradual loss of
the right to public action and opinion, a right that
serves as a cornerstone of the social sphere where indi-
viduals ought to be able to act in association with oth-
ers as equals. Consequently, Arendt concluded that an
essential dimension of “the human condition,” our
freedom to interact creatively with others, has been
gradually restricted.Further Reading
Young-Bruehl, E. Hannah Arendt: For Love of the World.New
Haven: Yale University Press, 1982.aristocracy
A form of government in which “the best” rule. From
the Greek terms aristoi(or “best”) and cracy(“rule
of”). Many political thinkers and regimes have
advanced this form of government but disagree over
what, or who, the best people are and how they should
govern. For the Greek philosopher PLATO, in The
Republicthe aristocracy consists of the wise who know
VIRTUE. His ideal regime is governed by “PHILOSOPHER-
KINGS” who set up a truly just society, including
economic, educational, and military systems. For ARIS-
TOTLE, the aristocracy is the rule in the ancient Greek
polis of the most civilized, reasonable, prosperous, and
educated elite. For CHRISTIAN political thought (St.
AUGUSTINE, the PURITANS, etc.), there is no pure aristoc-
racy on earth because all people are sinful, but a gov-
ernment with truly Christian rulers or saints will be
the best possible government.
All aristocratic governments imply an elite which
excludes many (inferior) people from political power.
Questions, then, of who is the aristocracy and how
they are recognized arise. Aristotle, for example,
excludes non-Greeks (or barbarians), women, slaves,
the poor, ignorant and young people from gover-
nance. Since reason and leisure are required for just,
wise rule only adult, Greek, male, wealthy citizens
should have positions of authority. During the
European Middle Ages most states had a ruling aris-
tocracy based on family heredity; the monarchy and
nobility descended through certain families who had18 Arendt, Hannah
Hannah Arendt studying a paper with a reporter.(LIBRARY
OFCONGRESS)