Author
Hannah Arendt
2 reading cards from 2 books · 1951–1958.
2 cards
Originile totalitarismului · 1951
Arendt shows that totalitarian propaganda does not aim to convince, but to destroy the ability to judge truth. When lies become as credible as facts, people stop seeking evidence and accept any version from power. For example, a regime that constantly repeats 'the enemy is among us' without evidence creates an atmosphere where people no longer know what to believe and obey blindly.
“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between true and false no longer exist.”
Condiția umană · 1958
Conscious thinking about our everyday actions is a fundamental political act.
Arendt reacts to the 'banality of evil' observed in Eichmann, who did not think about what he was doing. To think means to pause between stimulus and reaction, to evaluate consequences and take responsibility. For example, before automatically liking a controversial post, asking yourself 'What effect does this have on me and others?' is exactly the kind of thinking she proposes.
“What I propose is very simple: it is nothing more than to think what we are doing.”