The undesirables of totalitarianism and the totalitarian surge
- Ariane Bilheran
- 1 day ago
- 8 min read
Unicorn No. 26 by Ariane Bilheran, December 15, 2025.
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"We have pushed logic so far that, to settle a difference of opinion, we know only one argument: death."
Koestler, A. Darkness at Noon.
The totalitarian system thrives on hatred of the other, their exclusion, and even their eradication. Let us remember the fateful date of July 12, 2021, when, in his speech, the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, divided civil society into two categories: the good, obedient citizens, and the others… I wrote at the time:
"So, perhaps today some people reassure themselves by saying that, if they are obedient citizens, they will be spared, since the vindictiveness targets a particular category of individuals in a social body now considered sick, and which should be amputated. This is a mistake.
In oppressive systems, all those who submit meekly and zealously, hoping to escape unscathed, end up being persecuted and then executed.
After the "non-essentials", there were the "suspended". Were those who obeyed wisely safe? Some also experienced arbitrary procedures (the "protocols"), others fell ill, or died, from so much obedience.
At a time when a tragic crisis is hitting French farmers, we must understand the mechanisms of totalitarian persecution...
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