Ideal citizens in the nations should have the courage and traits necessary to resist totalitarian governments. Totalitarian type of leadership is one in which the governing party prohibits individual, groups or other party opposition of its leadership. The Nazi government, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, remains as the best example of a totalitarian political administration. Apart from the Nazi, China also has a significant history of totalitarianism. Totalitarian dictatorship in China was at its peak during the reign of Mao Zedong from 1949- 1976. Totalitarian governments are known for certain features such as eliminating political opposition parties. Such a government emphasizes on a single-party rule. Mao Zedong administered totalitarian rule, for instance, by controlling various systems that have a lot of influence in the country. The totalitarian leaders usually bar individuals and groups from exercising their rights.
How leaders Impede Citizens from Exercising their Rights
The totalitarian governments inflict fear and excise excess control over its citizens to hinder them from questioning their administration. For example, during the reign of Mao Zedong under the Communist Party of China (CPC), he took control of the security apparatus, the ministry of foreign affairs as well the People's Liberation Army among other influential systems. In a totalitarian government, a single individual or party usually controls everything leaving no room for citizens to exercise their democratic and political rights ( Magstadt, 2016). Totalitarians also impede the rights of citizens by regulating the forms of communications such as broadcasting companies. The leaders also use violence to control the citizens as a way of enforcing their harsh rule. Mao Zedong, for instance, initiated revolutions to restate his position as the Chinese leader. The cultural riots lasted in phases until his death in 1979.
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Totalitarian leaders also rely on propaganda to control their nations. The false and misleading political messages also aim at instilling fear to the populations or furthering agendas. The Communist Party of China, for instance, used propaganda in its campaigns. For example, in 1972, the party elected a billboard with the words that praised the communist party ( Magstadt, 2016). Apart from violence and propaganda, leaders also use scapegoating in totalitarian governments to control the countries. Scapegoating was also evident during Mao's era. Mao ruled together with his royal gang, which had four individuals. After Zedong's death, Guofeng tricked the syndicate and accused them of all the cruelties that the people suffered during Mao's reign. They also executed two members of the group after a trial.
Components of an Ideal Citizen
An ideal citizen in any country should demonstrate certain traits such as respect, honesty, courage and responsibility. A responsible citizen should also employ political socialization. It entails getting the knowledge on how power is organized to help in having a personal stand in a totalitarian country. Citizens should also use peaceful civil disobedience style to counter the harsh totalitarian governments through protests. Examples of civil disobedience include sit-ins and freedom and rights protests. Active citizens should also be ready to ignore political propagandas presented by the totalitarian governments. Voter apathy can also be a strategic technique to fight totalitarian governments. It involves the act of ignoring the call to vote during voting days. Voter apathy shows lack of interest in the government's process. It is one of the ways of denying the leaders the loyalty that they demand.
References
Magstadt, T. M. (2016). Understanding politics: Ideas, institutions, and issues . Cengage Learning.
Wolin, S. S. (2017). Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism-New Edition . Princeton University Press.
