From totalitarianism to the society of consumption: metamorphosis of total control

The objective of the article is diachronic analysis and comparison of two types of ideology that emerged in the Western society by the 20th century: the ideology of the totalitarian regime and the contemporary ideology of ‘the society of consumption’. Both of them are the result of the developing of the ideas that the Age of Enlightenment had postulated and they both have much in common. These two types of society both tend to total control over individuals, which leads to people’s estrangement from their own humanity and total non-freedom. It must be pointed out that the diffusive control that is executed by ‘the society of consumption’ is much more total and effective than the totalitarian one. The postmodern critic that pretends to actualize critical comprehension of ‘the society of consumption’ in fact turns out to be its integral part. In the article, the realities of the contemporary world that cannot be grasped by this type of critic are considered, such as international terrorism and the win of the off-system candidate in the presidential election in the USA.