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1 results

  • 6 - The Institutional Genes of Totalitarian Ideology

  • Chenggang Xu, Stanford University, California
  • Book:
    Institutional Genes
    Published online:
    03 June 2025
    Print publication:
    26 June 2025, pp 202-260

  • Summary

    Totalitarian systems, marked by extreme violence, are fundamentally bound to an ideology, such as Marxism-Leninism, which is instrumental to their creation and persistence, from the Bolshevik revolution in Russia to modern China. The chapter examines the genesis of communist totalitarian ideology in early Christian communal equality, connecting it to Rousseau’s and Babeuf’s anti-property ideals, which ultimately influenced Marxism and its vision of a dictatorial society in the name of absolute equality. The enduring pull towards egalitarianism, when pushed to extremes, can encroach on private property rights, ironically culminating in totalitarian rule and unprecedented inequality.