Friday, October 21, 2005

I'm a Totalitarian?

So I found a link on Rachel's blog that is an interesting-looking political test. So I took it.

And they said I was a "Totalitarian!"

So... in case you don't know... here is a definition of totalitarianism:

Totalitarianism is a typology employed by political scientists to describe modern regimes in which the state regulates nearly every aspect of public and private behavior. Totalitarian regimes mobilize entire populations in support of the state and a political ideology, and do not tolerate activities by individuals or groups such as labor unions, churches and political parties that are not directed toward the state's goals. They maintain themselves in power by means of secret police, propaganda disseminated through the state-controlled mass media, regulation and restriction of free discussion and criticism, and widespread use of terror tactics. Critics of the concept contend that the term lacks explanatory power. They argue that governments which are often classified as totalitarian may not be as monolithic as they appear from the outside, since they may hide a political process in which several groups, such as the army, political leaders, industrialists, and others, compete for power and influence.

Okay... so I don't think I fit into that category! But this is interesting... as I have a really strong understanding/appreciation of leadership! So I'm not sure how I fit into this category. It is actually quite puzzling to me.

2 comments:

mdog said...

i'm with paul. i don't understand. i mean, great minds think alike, but i don't believe they think like THIS.

"are you pondering what i'm pondering, pinky...?"

jared said...

I took that test too. It told me I was a democrat! Now, I do consider myself to be a fairly moderate, republican, but I've never really identified with the democratic party. Hmm, maybe I'll have to rethink things before the next election. At the risk of offending some of my democratic friends, perhaps I really am, but just don't know it because their candidates won't actually say where they stand.