My good friend, the cheese maker, William got me interested in a philosopher called Hannah Arendt.
She was influenced by Martin Heidegger a member of the wartime Nazi party. As a Holocaust survivor that might seem a bit odd, but to be fair it would have been very unusual for an academic in Nazi Germany not to be a member of the party.
I have bought her book, the Origins of Totalitarianism.
Living in a British colony ruled by a monarch in her 90s and watching on tv the invasion of Ukraine by a country ruled by Vladimir Putin, the Russian dictator, I am intrigued to read Hannah Arendt’s thoughts on how this form of absolute power survives into modern times.
The divine right of Kings was challenged by civil war in England, revolution in Europe and reshaped the global political map.
The liberation of former colonies was an opportunity for dictators to seize control of power and economic assets. Robert Mugabe and Idi Amin were two of the worst offenders.
The British Commonwealth continues links with former colonies and the Motherland. The transition of nations from enslaved colonies to self determination has been achieved with a degree of success.
Soviet Russia seems to be reluctant to let go of its dominance in Eastern Europe.
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