Hannah Arendt believes that the true goal of totalitarian education is indoctrination, and removing the individual’s capacity to think for themselves, in favour of only instilling convictions that the Government deems worthy. It is an unethical practice, and I will be arguing in favour of Arendt’s view.
It is important that the meaning of a totalitarian government is clear. It is a form of Government where the state exerts maximum control over the lives of its citizens. They control the convictions of the people and demand strong subservience to the Government. The education system in a totalitarian Government is one of its most fascinating features. The education system exists as a method to control the thoughts and ideas of a population from a young age. Children are taught only what the state wants them to be taught. It, therefore, is a very biased and inefficient system. However, those in power prefer this system of education as indoctrination is their priority over intellectual development.
Totalitarian education is wrong on ethical grounds. It exerts control over the youth of the country. If the current citizens have lost the freedom of speech, the education system will ensure that future citizens will not be capable to speak freely.
Totalitarianism can unfortunately integrate very well into the educational system. The education of children is restricted to only material that the Government finds appropriate, and anything critical of the State is omitted. The State’s ideals and propaganda will be a part of the education of the youth. This sort of restricted education will only degrade the intellectual capability of the youth, and they will lose the ability to think for themselves.
It is also very susceptible to misuse. Those in favour of totalitarian education may claim that it will instil values like nationalism and respect towards the community in the children. What they fail to consider is that it is not only values that a totalitarian Government instils. Hate and prejudice can also be taught to children. It is indeed a two-edged sword. Values like patriotism and love for the community must come naturally from the child, not be forced upon it.
The psychological effects of a totalitarian government are also to be considered. The child’s cognitive stages of development will be affected. The child is taught to place the superego (adherence to societal expectations) above all their motivations and conflicts. It is brought about because the state teaches children to rigidly follow rules and keep within the confines of State restrictions. There lacks the proper freedom that facilitates the resolution of psychodynamic development that a child goes through. In the end, this results in the formation of a cognitively and psychologically inferior population.
All this leaves us with a final question and a straightforward answer. Does totalitarianism facilitate the instilling of convictions in the youth? Evidently not. Rather it deprives the individual of the ability to even form their own conviction. Totalitarian education is not a tool for the improvement of the country’s population, but a chain that fetters it from speaking for itself.
