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
editHannah 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.[2][3][4]
Metaphor
editIn this context, Arendt uses the metaphor of the onion to represent the structure of totalitarian systems.[2][5][6] This metaphor illustrates an organized structure centered around a central point, the leader of the totalitarian system.[2] She contrasts this structure with other types, such as the pyramid-like structures of autocracy or tyranny.[7][8] This depiction reveals that totalitarianism evolves in "waves", spreading through different layers of society.[9] The closer one is to the center, the more radicalized they are, whereas those closer to the periphery are less radicalized.[7] 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.[7]
The metaphor is described by researchers like Sophie Schulze as follows:[10]
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.[11] 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][12]
Legacy
editThe use of the metaphor was deemed relevant when discussing, among other things, the USSR under Stalin, Nazi Germany, and Imperial Japan.[13] The notion that this structure helps totalitarian regimes avoid 'external reality shocks' is also considered an important concept in psychology.[11]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Blumenthal-Barby, Martin (2009). ""The Odium of Doubtfulness"; or, The Vicissitudes of Metaphorical Thinking". New German Critique. 36 (106): 61–81. doi:10.1215/0094033X-2008-021. ISSN 0094-033X. JSTOR 27669255. Archived from the original on 2024-02-16. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
- ^ a b c d Betz, Joseph (1992). "An Introduction to the Thought of Hannah Arendt". Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society. 28 (3): 379–422. ISSN 0009-1774. JSTOR 40320369. Archived from the original on 2023-05-27. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
- ^ Quarterly, Social Research An Int'l (2002-07-01). "HANNAH ARENDT'S THE ORIGINS OF TOTALITARIANISM: Fifty Years Later / Vo". socres. Archived from the original on 2024-02-16. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
- ^ Devlin, Nicholas (2023). "Hannah Arendt and Marxist Theories of Totalitarianism". Modern Intellectual History. 20 (1): 247–269. doi:10.1017/S1479244321000603. ISSN 1479-2443.
- ^ Chaput, Sylvie (1982). "Hannah Arendt : la nécessité historique est une superstition". Nuit Blanche (in French) (7): 36–37. ISSN 0823-2490. Archived from the original on 2024-02-16. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
- ^ Tassin, Étienne (1997). "Hannah Arendt Et La Spécificité Du Totalitarisme". Revue Française d'Histoire des Idées Politiques (6): 367–388. ISSN 1266-7862. JSTOR 24610297. Archived from the original on 2024-02-17. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
- ^ a b c "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". www.idixa.net. Archived from the original on 2024-02-16. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
- ^ Ménissier, Thierry (2016), Comment assumer l'inconsistance du réel ? Penser avec Arendt la crise de l'autorité politique moderne (in French), Presses Universitaires de France, archived from the original on 2024-02-17, retrieved 2024-02-18
- ^ Featherstone, Mark (2020). "Towards a Bureaucracy of the Body". New Formations: A Journal of Culture/Theory/Politics. 100 (100): 97–113. doi:10.3898/Newf:100-101.07.2020. ISSN 1741-0789.
- ^ Hannah Arendt, les juristes et le concept de totalitarisme. Éditions Kimé. 2020-12-01. doi:10.3917/kime.schul.2020.01. ISBN 978-2-84174-989-8. Archived from the original on 2024-02-17. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
- ^ a b c Aschheim, Steven E. (1997). "Nazism, Culture and The Origins of Totalitarianism: Hannah Arendt and the Discourse of Evil". New German Critique (70): 117. doi:10.2307/488501. JSTOR 488501. Archived from the original on 2024-02-17. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
- ^ O'sullivan, N. K. (1973). "Politics, Totalitarianism and Freedom: The Political Thought of Hannah Arendt". Political Studies. 21 (2): 183–198. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9248.1973.tb01427.x. ISSN 0032-3217. Archived from the original on 2024-02-18. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
- ^ Monnet, Livia (2001). Approches critiques de la pensée japonaise du xxe siècle (in French). Presses de l’Université de Montréal. doi:10.4000/books.pum.19848. ISBN 978-2-7606-1784-1. Archived from the original on 2024-02-17. Retrieved 2024-02-18.