The totalitarian experience - Tzvetan Todorov

The fall of the Berlin Wall marked the beginning of the collapse of
the Soviet Union, as well as many other communist totalitarian regimes
around the world. But it would be naive to assume that this historic,
symbolic event and its aftermath have completely rid the world of
totalitarianism. Instead, we should ask, what is the totalitarian
experience and how does it survive today? This is the imposing question raised by acclaimed philosopher and
writer Tzvetan Todorov in this compact, highly personal essay. Here, he
recounts his own experiences with totalitarianism in his native Bulgaria
and discusses the books he has written in the last twenty years that
were devoted to examining such regimes, such as Voices from the Gulag,
his influential analysis of Stalinist concentration camps. Through this
retrospective investigation, Todorov offers a historical look at
communism. He brings together and distills his extensive oeuvre to
reveal the essence of totalitarian ideology, the characteristics of
daily life under communism, and the irony of democratic messianism. Bringing his thoughts and insights up to the present, Todorov
explores how economic ultraliberalism may be considered just another
form of totalitarianism. And his conclusion leads us to ask ourselves
another challenging question: Are liberal democratic societies actually
totalitarian experiences in disguise?
\u201cIn this honed, finely calibrated essay, Todorov refutes the
notion that good can be imposed by force. More efficient is to embody
ones values and demonstrate their worth. . . . This is a concise and
eloquent defence of what makes us truly human.\u201d-Age, on Torture and the War on Terror