哲学・社会学の英語：ハンナ・アーレント著「全体主義の起源」

A: Have you ever read Hannah Arendt's "The Origins of Totalitarianism"?

B: No, I haven't. What is it about?

A: It's her first major work, published in 1951, where she analyzes Nazism and Stalinism as the major totalitarian political movements of the first half of the 20th century.

B: Interesting. How does she approach this analysis?

A: The book is structured into three essays: "Antisemitism", "Imperialism" and "Totalitarianism". Arendt traces the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe, the New Imperialism, and the emergence of racism as an ideology. She argues that totalitarianism is a "novel form of government" that "differs essentially from other forms of political oppression known to us such as despotism, tyranny, and dictatorship."

B: That sounds fascinating. What does she mean by "totalitarianism"?

A: According to Arendt, totalitarianism is a form of government that applies terror to subjugate mass populations rather than just political adversaries. It's different from other forms of oppression because it seeks to dominate and terrorize human beings from within.

B: That's horrifying. Did she discuss the Holocaust in the book?

A: Yes, she did. Arendt argues that Jewry was not the operative factor in the Holocaust, but merely a convenient proxy. Totalitarianism in Germany was, in the end, about terror and consistency, not eradicating Jews only.

B: I see. It sounds like a powerful and thought-provoking book. I'll have to read it.