What did Hannah Arendt mean in this quote?: ''Totalitarian movements use socialism and racism by emptying them of their utilitarian content, the interests of a class or nation. The form of infallible prediction in which these concepts were presented has become more important than their content.'' I would be happy to hear a detailed explanation, thanks in advance.
Parties and ideology are characteristic of the political life of the nation-state. They represent class interests and are organizations of citizens. Central to Arendt’s historical analysis of the rise of totalitarianism is the liquidation of parties. This process began with the imperialist “party above parties” and the one-party dictatorships of many countries on the Continent, but the destruction of parties was only realized by the rise of totalitarian movements, which were against all parties and against the state. By analyzing the liquidation of parties, Arendt is able to argue for the novelty of totalitarian rule and distinguish it from previous political forms.
