The philosophical-existential approach of H. Arendt and F.A. Hayek’s economic approach to the study of the essence of totalitarianism: a comparative analysis

This article is devoted to the examination of various approaches to totalitarian political regimes. As is well known, in the 20th century, regimes such as Hitler’s in Germany and Mussolini’s in Italy unleashed the largest global conflict; while the regimes of Mao in China, Stalin in the USSR, and Pol Pot in Cambodia resulted in the deaths of millions due to repressions. Based on this, the goal of the work follows: to identify the essence of a totalitarian political regime, the prerequisites and reasons for its emergence, and also to determine what steps modern society needs to take in order to prevent the emergence of such regimes in the future. The article employs logical-analytical research methods that facilitate a thorough examination of the literature, specifically through analysis, synthesis, abstraction, generalization, deduction, induction, analogy, and hypothesis. As a result of the study, the authors conclude on the inadmissibility of totalitarian political regimes from both a humanistic and a rational standpoint, as well as the necessity of active citizen involvement in politics as the sole means to avert their emergence.