Some people want to say that totalitarianism is a distinct form of government that arose in the 20th century. I understand why they make that argument, but I look back at authoritarian structures throughout history and I don’t see a significant difference, only a difference of tactics within a basic structure of power concentration. Perhaps it is fair to say that the clinical bureaucratic efficiency of Nazi authoritarianism was a child of modernism and technology.

Regardless, even if one wants to argue that Stalinism and Nazism are somehow innovative, they are not presently novel given the reality that a significant number of authoritarian states today are emulating the tactics of the Soviet and Nazi regimes. I circle back to my original observation that today, there is nothing novel about totalitarianism, it is widely practiced. Arendt would agree.