Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

Totalitarianism is a threat from both The Left and The Right. For example, from The Left, there is a lot of historical precedence for fearing impending totalitarianism due to it being wrapped in collectivist moralizing. Collectivism demands that individuals give up their right to make many decisions for themselves, instead embracing a vague higher authority ideal. Once individuals have been convinced that someone else will be making decisions, they stop thinking for themselves and instead wait for instructions. Rather the higher authority is a benevolent committee looking out for everyone’s best interests, or a selfish dictator, is almost the same thing, and since consensus is difficult to achieve in committees, the eager persistence of strong-willed people with totalitarian impulses eventually prevail.

Totalitarianism is also a danger from The Right since libertarian beliefs inevitably lead to extreme accumulation of wealth and de facto aristocracies. Eventually, the subsequent heirs of the wealthy take their good fortune for granted, that they somehow deserve adulation because of their superior breeding, that their ascendancy is a sign of their inherent good judgment, so it is only natural for them to assume what is best for them is best for everyone, and they have the power to make it so.