+1 862 207 3288 Second Paper Assignment
Write a thoroughly researched, subtly argued, and aesthetically pleasing essay in response to the prompt below. Base your discussion on the assigned readings, mainly Brenan, Eksteins, Arendt, and Hilberg. (Gerald Brenan, The Spanish Labyrinth, ModrisEksteins, Rites of Spring, Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism. BE VERY CAREFUL WITH TERMINOLOGY: “fascism,” “dictatorship,” and “Totalitarianism” are related concepts but NOT synonyms. Likewise, be very precise in the labels you assign to specific political movements. Completed essays should be at least 2000 words in length. All papers should be typed, double-spaced, and free from spelling and typographical errors. Sources should be cited using footnotes or endnotes according to the form given in the style sheet (Chicago Manual of Style). Consult the style sheet on the web for more detailed information on composition standards and grading.
Gerald Brenan, ModrisEksteins, and Hannah Arendt each attempted to provide their own explanation for the rise of fascism in the first half of the twentieth century. Considering their explanations (along with Raul Hilberg’s rather stark portrait of Totalitarianism in action), what seem to be the particular historical circumstances leading to the rise of dictatorship, whether of the right or the left? In your answer, focus on one of the following sub-questions:
1) To what extent can modern radical movements, in particular Totalitarian movements, be seen as having their origins at least to some degree in revolutionary anarchism? What are the specific aspects of anarchism that have manifested themselves in the radical movements of the early twentieth century?
2) Was the First World War a necessary precondition for the emergence of totalitarian movements as those that emerged in Germany and Russia? Or were there factors present in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century society that might have led to totalitarianism without the “experience” of trench warfare? In other words, what are the arguments againstEkstein’s explanation for the rise of Totalitarianism?
3) What was more significant for the framing of radical ideologies in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: desire to restore and idealized past or the quest for an idealized future? In either case, what were the elements of ordinary “bourgeois” society that the revolutions – right and left – sought to overcome if not eradicate?
4) Is the drift towards dictatorship and ultimately Totalitarianism more likely in some cultures than others? More specifically, which is more at risk, a culture which is fundamentally conservative (that is to say, one which gives particular weight and significance to tradition) or one that is fundamentally progressive (that is, one self-consciously directed towards an unachieved future condition)?
By way of conclusion, consider the following: (1) are all dictatorships necessarily totalitarian, or is Totalitarianism a specific form of dictatorship that can only exist under very specific conditions? (2) ultimately, which of the authors provides the most convincing explanation of the causes of dictatorship in the modern world?
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