Totalitarianism is a form of government which is characterized by the existence of a single political party, organized on a dictatorial basis. The government seeks to control all aspects of society, so that the party leadership maintains monopoly control over the governmental system, which includes the police, military, communications, and economic and education systems. Any opposition to such party is forcibly suppressed.
States most commonly described as totalitarian—the Soviet Union under Stalin, Nazi Germany, and the People’s Republic of China under Mao, have advanced different ideological goals. However they shared the characteristics of requiring the citizen’s duty to the state as the primary concern of the community, and the goal of the state to be the replacement of existing society with a perfect society.
