Hannah Arendt - The Banality of Evil

[JosephKnecht]

I came across the following video which summarizes the work of Hannah Arendt, one of the best political philosophers of the 20th century.

Anyone interested in how totalitarianism arises should become more familiar with her work (especially if Trump wins the election). 

Enjoy! 

 

[DocWatts]

Thanks for this, as it's especially relevant at our current moment:

 

"[They] did not know before 1933 that Nazism was evil. They did not know between 1933 and 1945 that it was evil. And they do not know it now [in 1946].”

― Milton Sanford Mayer, They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45'

In Weimer Germany's last free elections, not everyone casting ballots for the Nazis would have described themselves as a Nazi, and a lot of them didn't have any particular animosity towards Jewish people. What was far more common was that folks saw some personal advantage to throwing their lot in with vengeful nationalists, and were willing to downplay and excuse the monstrous things that Hitler and the Nazis were saying and doing at the time - just as people today are willing to downplay Trump's violent hateful rhetoric, his numerous crimes, the January 6th insurrection, and the Republican Party's ongoing coup attempt.

Likewise, the vast majority of Trump supporters don't think of themselves as fascist enablers, but what they fail to recognize is that today's fascism couches itself in traditional American values, weaponized against out-groups within American society - just as Nazi fascism marketed itself in traditional German values, weaponized against the out-groups of its day. 

It's exactly this type of dynamic that the 'Banality of Evil' was referring to.

Edited November 5, 2024 by DocWatts

[JosephKnecht]

1 hour ago, DocWatts said:

Likewise, the vast majority of Trump supporters don't think of themselves as fascist enablers,

I think the majority of Trump supporters don't think for themselves. That is one of the reasons why totalitarianism arises. 

When everyone follows orders blindly, without critical thinking, they become the invisible hand of a dictator who can execute his will.

[Fluran]

Isn't it the case that democrats party has been capable of manipulating and controlling media

Shaping the public consensus effectively 

Silencing the other parts of the society

I do see it's either totalitarian media censorship society by democrats or decentralized conspiratorial society of Trump

[JosephKnecht]

@Fluran

Corruption happens on both sides. 

However, Trump is more power-hungry and he will be willing to go to great lengths to keep it. 

Now that Trump has won the election, I suggest we become more familiar with Totalitarianism and how it arises. Arendt can help us in this respect.