The Origins of Totalitarianism

First published in 1951, The Origins of Totalitarianism is Hannah Arendt’s monumental examination of the political forces that made the catastrophes of the twentieth century possible. Tracing the development of modern antisemitism, European imperialism and the rise of Nazi and Stalinist totalitarianism, Arendt investigates how established political traditions collapsed and how movements built upon ideology, propaganda and terror came to reshape human society. Her account moves between historical analysis and political philosophy, illuminating the connections between racism, statelessness, mass society and the destruction of individual freedom.

Neither a conventional history nor a purely theoretical treatise, the book is distinguished by Arendt’s determination to understand totalitarianism as a new and unprecedented form of domination. Its enduring importance lies in its examination of the conditions under which truth becomes unstable, human rights are stripped of their meaning, and individuals are rendered politically powerless. A defining work of twentieth-century political thought, it remains essential to understanding the fragility of democratic institutions and the responsibilities of political life.

From the book

“The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.”

— Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism

On The Origins of Totalitarianism

“The question of human rights is only addressed in passing” in Arendt’s later major works, making its treatment in The Origins of Totalitarianism especially significant.

— Peg Birmingham, The Cambridge Handbook of Human Dignity