This unit explored the idea of how and why authoritarian governments reject liberalism.
You have learned how classical liberalism does not fit all societies as some shifted to a more socialist ideology of wanting equality based on the common good. Socialists believe that all people should be cared for and that all members need to contribute to the care of everyone else.
New types of socialist movements began to form, such as Marxism which gave rise to authoritarian and communist governments known as Leninism, and Stalinism in the Soviet Union. Eventually, dictatorships and absolute monarchies began to form. With totalitarian governments exercising control over the population. These governments used various methods to maintain their power over the people, such as force and terror, indoctrination, and censorship. Propaganda and scapegoating became more normalized within these government parties.
In this unit, you also learned about Czar Nicolas and the Russian Revolution, which brought in Lenin and the Bolshevik Party, which was then followed by Joseph Stalin and his five-year plan to bring in more food and industry to the people of his country. The Communist Party promised economic equality and prosperity for everyone through central planning. This appealed to the Russians who lived a life of poverty. Through central planning, the Soviet Union was able to coordinate the resources of its society and distribute wealth more evenly. There were, however, problems with the communist economy, such as a lack of consumer goods and a lack of emphasis on worker safety.
This unit also discussed rejected liberalism in Mussolini's Fascist Italy and Nazism in Hitler's Germany. The principles of each focused on nationalism, elitism, racism, and militarism. When Hitler came to power, inflation was out of control in Germany. Hitler told factories what to produce and placed a freeze on the price of all products. This meant that supply and demand no longer determined the prices of products in Germany. Hitler placed restrictions on what would be produced in order to produce more of what he wanted.
SOLARO Study Guides offer a number of excellent practice questions for you to try before your quiz (Calgary Public Library Card Required).