What is totalitarianism?

Totalitarianism is when one person or group completely controls everything in a country, like a boss who runs every part of a big company.

Imagine you have a toy box with all your favorite toys, cars, blocks, dolls. Now imagine someone takes the key to the toy box and says, “You can only play with these toys if I say so.” That’s kind of like totalitarianism in a country.

In a normal playground, kids have different games they can choose, some ride bikes, others swing or play tag. But in a totalitarian playground, there's only one game, and only one person decides who gets to play it and when. That person might even stop other kids from playing if they don’t agree with them.

In a country ruled by totalitarianism, everyone has to follow the same rules, what you wear, what you say, even what books you read. It's like being in a classroom where only one teacher gives all the lessons and decides if your answers are right or wrong.

Sometimes people don’t like this kind of control because it feels unfair, but that’s another story!