Hannah Arendt Quotes Page 2


 
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Best 40 Quotes by Hannah Arendt – Page 2 of 2

The Origins of Totalitarianism Quotes

“In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true. Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow. The totalitarian mass leaders based their propaganda on the correct psychological assumption that, under such conditions, one could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness.”

The Origins of Totalitarianism

“Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow.”

The Origins of Totalitarianism

“One of the greatest advantages of the totalitarian elites of the twenties and thirties was to turn any statement of fact into a question of motive.”

The Origins of Totalitarianism

“Only the mob and the elite can be attracted by the momentum of totalitarianism itself. The masses have to be won by propaganda.”

The Origins of Totalitarianism

“The aim of totalitarian education has never been to instill convictions but to destroy the capacity to form any.”

The Origins of Totalitarianism

“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between true and false no longer exist.”

The Origins of Totalitarianism

“The point is that both Hitler and Stalin held out promises of stability in order to hide their intention of creating a state of permanent instability.”

The Origins of Totalitarianism

“The true goal of totalitarian propaganda is not persuasion, but organization of the policy. What convinces masses are not facts, and not even invented facts, but only the consistency of the system of which they are presumably part.”

The Origins of Totalitarianism

“There is hardly a better way to avoid discussion than by releasing an argument from the control of the present and by saying that only the future will reveal its merits.”

The Origins of Totalitarianism

“Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty.”

The Origins of Totalitarianism

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“The word 'flu' could never have the capacity to link fear in the same way as a new 'mysterious' viral illness. Our grandmother already had the flu, and she had her remedies for it. 'Flu' is a word associated with 'an ailment'. A virus is the ultimate, unstoppable and invisible killer. As such, from a psychological point of view, it is perfect to provoke massive fear.”


More quotes by Mattias Desmet

 
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