Question

what is the difference between totalitarian regime and authoritarian regime Hitler and Mussolini fall in which category no wikipedia answers pls

Answer 1

my teacher said that the main distinction between the two is the position or role of political life. Totalitarian regime approves political activity, but authoritarian does not. But i'm not quite sure about that..:(

Answer 2

It might actually be opposite -- totalitarian regimes often do not approve of any political activity besides that of the ruling party, but an authoritarian one can be more lax in allowing some activity. Both Hitler and Mussolini's regimes can fall under totalitarianism.

The dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines during the 70s and 80s was, by his own words, called "constitutional authoritarianism". There were even elections held in the 80s by different political parties, though he himself remained dictator over the whole thing. On the opposite end, Nazi Germany could be considered totalitarian for the influence exerted over every aspect of life -- political opposition was annihilated, everyone was told what to believe, and the state was considered more important than the individual.