ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the conceptual overview of vanguardism as a form of totalitarian and extremist politics, as well as creating the structure upon which the following chapters are based. Starting with an overview of the literature specifically dedicated to vanguard organizations, the argument then presents the six traits that constitute vanguardism: (1) the “category”, or mass population that vanguardists believe has special epistemological qualities, referred to here as “category-based epistemology”; (2) the ideological structure of historical dynamics; (3) the category-specific “science” used to understand historical dynamics and act upon them; (4) the connection of the category to the totality of social existence; (5) the construction of an opposing and utterly irredeemable population against the “category” (the “Enemy”); and (6) the vanguard organization itself. The argument distinguishes vanguardism as a specific type of movement in comparison to other movements that may share some characteristics but not others.
