Dear Reader,
This week we finished reading Hannah Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism.
The revised conclusion, written in 1958—Ideology and Terror—is, as one reader said, terrifying. It is the clearest part of the book and the closest Arendt comes to writing systematic philosophy, laying bare how and why political ideology (propaganda) becomes so powerful—and how it has the capacity to destroy the world.
And to tie up loose ends: a few years ago, when I was working on the biography, I sat down and catalogued the various endings of Origins.
You can find them here:
I’ll send the invitation for our next read on Wednesday!
Looking forward.
until soon,
Sam
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