Totalitarianism versus humanitarian-personalist concept of socio-political life according to Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński

Abstract

This paper studies the multifaceted and definitude specificity of totalitarianism in the context of the humanitarian-personalist concept of the socio-political life of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński. The analysis of the discussed topics provides a unique insight into the nature of totalitarianism, in both the version of German Nazism and in Communism with the Soviet origin and provenances. However, the reinterpretation of the above systems from the perspective of Christian personalist praxeology allows one to notice and present the fundamental assumptions of these concepts’ entirely anti-human and anti-Christian paradigm. Moreover, unveiling the entire agenda of totalitarianism makes it easier to interpret these concepts in terms of not only defining but also legitimizing, and even authenticating, some of the most terrifying and degenerated systemic government-ruling forms of the 20th century. It is of crucial importance, especially nowadays, when the emerging trends often downplay and soften the criminal nature of the above systems and even consider the “totalitarian model” as a “specific historical phenomenon” attempting to resolve many crucial but complex issues of political, cultural, and economic nature.