Modernism and Totalitarianism evaluates a broad range of post-1945 scholarship. Totalitarianism, as the common ideological trajectory of Nazism and Stalinism, is dissected as a synthesis of three modernist intellectual currents which determine its particular, inherited character.
RICHARD SHORTEN teaches political theory at the University of Birmingham, UK. His work focuses on the history of political ideas, with particular reference to twentieth-century Europe. He has published widely on the subject of totalitarianism.
Series Preface Acknowledgments Introduction PART I: TOTALITARIANISM – WHAT, WHEN, HOW? The Problem of the Modern The Problem of Intellectual Antecedents PART II: THREE TOTALITARIAN CURRENTS Utopianism Scientism Revolutionary Violence Conclusion Bibliography Index
'An extremely worthwhile book that constitutes a significant contribution to a much-discussed topic It meets an obvious need for a comprehensive survey among so many more specialised studies. I cannot think of any other work that quite does the job' - Harry Redner, formerly Reader in Politics at Monash University