Totalitarian movements organize masses by sheer numbers rather than classes or citizen-opinion.

Evidence

The totalitarian movements aim at and succeed in organizing masses—not classes, like the old interest parties of the Continental nation-states; not citizens with opinions about, and interests in, the handling of public affairs, like the parties of Anglo-Saxon countries. While all political groups depend upon proportionate strength, the totalitarian movements depend on the sheer force of numbers to such an extent that totalitarian regimes seem impossible, even under otherwise favorable circumstances, in countries with relatively small populations. — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 744

Categorization

• DEFINE: Core distinction in Arendt’s vocabulary: masses vs. classes vs. citizens is a foundational concept for the scaffolding toolkit.
• XREF: The masses/classes distinction will reappear throughout Arendt and feeds into the field’s account of how populations get mobilized against ‘Others’.