What can we learn from Hannah Arendt about today’s autocrats?

Studium Generale UU Podcast

Hannah Arendt's book 'the Origins of Totalitarianism' is one of the most influential books in political philosophy. It’s a study of how Nazism and Stalinism could result in the atrocities that marked the 20th century. Philosopher Dorothea Gädeke from Utrecht University was so deeply fascinated by Arendt's thinking that she decided to become a political philosopher herself. She discusses how Arendt's work was shaped by her escape from nazi Germany, how loneliness creates a breeding ground for totalitarian propaganda, and what we can learn from Arendt about modern politics.