ABSTRACT
The term ‘ideology’ is normally understood to mean an organized set of ideas and ideals intended to deal with problems and, perhaps, to institute sweeping change. The totalitarian ideologies had in common a desire to destroy the existing system and to recreate it according to an ideal form often called a Utopia. In fact, Friedrich and Brzezinski believe that ‘totalitarian ideologies are typically Utopian in nature’.1
Authoritarian regimes, by contrast, were usually unable to produce a distinctive ideology. Although they often aimed to change the existing political system, they were much more prepared to adapt to more traditional influences and ideas. Hence, they tended to be backward looking, even reactionary, in contrast to the revolutionary nature of totalitarian ideologies.
