Onion (Arendt) Explained

The onion metaphor is a metaphor used by the philosopher Hannah Arendt in The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951). It is used to provide an example of the underlying structure that characterizes the organization of totalitarianism.

Background

Hannah Arendt was a philosopher accustomed to using metaphors. Among other things, she advocated for their use in philosophical reflection in her Journal of Thoughts.[1] In The Origins of Totalitarianism, Arendt explored the question of totalitarianism – how these types of regimes form, evolve, exist, and perish.[2] She also examined the differences between totalitarianism and other forms of political systems, such as autocratic regimes.[3] [4]

Metaphor

In this context, Arendt uses the metaphor of the onion to represent the structure of totalitarian systems.[5] [6] This metaphor illustrates an organized structure centered around a central point, the leader of the totalitarian system. She contrasts this structure with other types, such as the pyramid-like structures of autocracy or tyranny.[7] This depiction reveals that totalitarianism evolves in "waves", spreading through different layers of society.[8] The closer one is to the center, the more radicalized they are, whereas those closer to the periphery are less radicalized. With this example, Arendt also exposes the dual nature of totalitarian organizations, possessing two faces—one presented to the external world, appearing normal, and another turned inward, radicalized.

The metaphor is described by researchers like Sophie Schulze as follows:[9]

For Arendt, the onion structure designates two distinct things: one, that power diffuses from the center to the periphery (centrifugal movement); the other, that each circle maintains itself through the balance between two opposing forces.
This structure also enables totalitarian regimes to absorb shocks from the external reality of the system.[10] Each layer of the onion absorbs a bit of the shockwave, ultimately rendering the contact with external reality harmless. This occurs despite the contradictions with the practical and scientific lies propagated by totalitarian regimes.[11]

Legacy

The use of the metaphor was deemed relevant when discussing, among other things, the USSR under Stalin, Nazi Germany, and Imperial Japan.[12] The notion that this structure helps totalitarian regimes avoid 'external reality shocks' is also considered an important concept in psychology.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Blumenthal-Barby . Martin . 2009 . "The Odium of Doubtfulness"; or, The Vicissitudes of Metaphorical Thinking . New German Critique . 36 . 106 . 61–81 . 10.1215/0094033X-2008-021 . 27669255 . 0094-033X . 2024-02-18 . 2024-02-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240216220555/https://www.jstor.org/stable/27669255 . live .
  2. Betz . Joseph . 1992 . An Introduction to the Thought of Hannah Arendt . Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society . 28 . 3 . 379–422 . 40320369 . 0009-1774 . 2024-02-18 . 2023-05-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230527102840/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40320369 . live .
  3. Web site: Quarterly . Social Research An Int'l . 2002-07-01 . HANNAH ARENDT'S THE ORIGINS OF TOTALITARIANISM: Fifty Years Later / Vo . 2024-02-18 . socres . en . 2024-02-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240216221539/https://www.socres.org/post/692-summer-2002-arendt . live .
  4. Devlin . Nicholas . 2023 . Hannah Arendt and Marxist Theories of Totalitarianism . Modern Intellectual History . en . 20 . 1 . 247–269 . 10.1017/S1479244321000603 . 1479-2443 . free .
  5. Chaput . Sylvie . 1982 . Hannah Arendt : la nécessité historique est une superstition . Nuit Blanche . fr . 7 . 36–37 . 0823-2490 . 2024-02-18 . 2024-02-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240216221818/https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/nb/1982-n7-nb1080667/1642ac/ . live .
  6. Tassin . Étienne . 1997 . Hannah Arendt Et La Spécificité Du Totalitarisme . Revue Française d'Histoire des Idées Politiques . 6 . 367–388 . 24610297 . 1266-7862 . 2024-02-18 . 2024-02-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240217004134/https://www.jstor.org/stable/24610297 . live .
  7. Web site: La structure de l'organisation totalitaire est celle d'un oignon, dont chaque couche a une face radicale tournée vers le centre et une face normale tournée vers l'extérieur . 2024-02-18 . www.idixa.net . 2024-02-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240216222752/https://www.idixa.net/Pixa/pagixa-1102081702.html . live .
  8. Featherstone . Mark . 2020 . Towards a Bureaucracy of the Body . New Formations: A Journal of Culture/Theory/Politics . 100 . 100 . 97–113 . 10.3898/Newf:100-101.07.2020 . 1741-0789.
  9. Book: Hannah Arendt, les juristes et le concept de totalitarisme . 2020-12-01 . Éditions Kimé . 978-2-84174-989-8 . 10.3917/kime.schul.2020.01 . 2024-02-18 . 2024-02-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240217004636/https://www.cairn.info/nomos-et-normes-2020--9782841749898.htm . live .
  10. Aschheim . Steven E. . 1997 . Nazism, Culture and The Origins of Totalitarianism: Hannah Arendt and the Discourse of Evil . New German Critique . 70 . 117 . 10.2307/488501 . 488501 . 2024-02-18 . 2024-02-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240217004930/https://www.jstor.org/stable/488501?origin=crossref . live .
  11. O'sullivan . N. K. . 1973 . Politics, Totalitarianism and Freedom: The Political Thought of Hannah Arendt . Political Studies . en . 21 . 2 . 183–198 . 10.1111/j.1467-9248.1973.tb01427.x . 0032-3217 . 2024-02-18 . 2024-02-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240218191601/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9248.1973.tb01427.x . live .
  12. Book: Monnet, Livia . Approches critiques de la pensée japonaise du xxe siècle . 2001 . Presses de l’Université de Montréal . 978-2-7606-1784-1 . fr . 10.4000/books.pum.19848 . 2024-02-18 . 2024-02-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240217003616/https://books.openedition.org/pum/19782 . live .

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