Terror is the essence of totalitarian government, not a means to an end

Evidence

Propaganda is indeed part and parcel of “psychological warfare”; but terror is more. Terror continues to be used by totalitarian regimes even when its psychological aims are achieved: its real horror is that it reigns over a completely subdued population. Where the rule of terror is brought to perfection, as in concentration camps, propaganda disappears entirely; it was even expressly prohibited in Nazi Germany. Propaganda, in other words, is one, and possibly the most important, instrument of totalitarianism for dealing with the nontotalitarian world; terror, on the contrary, is the very essence of its form of government. — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 808

Categorization

• DEFINE: Sharpens the conceptual distinction between propaganda (external-facing instrument) and terror (internal essence of totalitarian rule).
• XREF: Connects to the reader’s Scaffolding Theory toolkit — this is a foundational formulation of totalitarian governance that later biopolitics/necropolitics readings will presuppose. — connects to: Modern totalitarian terror governs the obedient by striking objectively innocent victims; Totalitarian regimes legitimize eliminating opposition as unnecessary and weak; Totalitarian ritual idolatry is an organizational device, not a religion (+8 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 808

Broader Connections

• Modern totalitarian terror governs the obedient by striking objectively innocent victims #expands (0.82)
• Totalitarian regimes legitimize eliminating opposition as unnecessary and weak #complicates (0.75)