Utopia and Terror in the 20th Century

By: Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius

From the trenches of World War I to Nazi Germany to Saddam Hussein's Iraq, the 20th century was a time of unprecedented violence. Yet while such monumental violence seems senseless, it is not inexplicable. If we can understand the origins of violence, we may prevent even greater horrors in the century to come.

These 24 necessary lectures trace the violent history of the 20th century, beginning with its early roots in the American and, especially, the French revolutions. With each passing lecture, you will see how the 20th century's-violence was the result of specific historical developments that eventually combined, with explosive results.

You'll see how

• the French Revolution proved that ideological movements could mobilize the public and, through violence, transform society;
• the Industrial Revolution and subsequent technology created vastly more powerful weapons; and
• Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection was perverted into Social Darwinism and eugenics.

The most sinister development of all, however, was the notion that utopia was not just a perfect paradise to look forward to in the afterlife. Instead, utopia could be built right now, in this life. Such 20th-century ideologies as Marxism, Nazism, Communism, and Fascism embraced this idea willingly - even enthusiastically - and used terror to implement it.

You'll see how leaders of totalitarian governments act as mobsters, and how regimes create fear and command allegiance through the use of bureaucratic "machines," such as the cult of the leader, secret police, and the media. In the final lectures, Professor Liulevicius considers recent figures such as Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden and assesses terrorism in the contemporary world.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2003 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2003 The Great Courses

A little off the mark

I the beginning of the book is true to the title of the lecture, but beyond that it goes in depth into the different movements. I wasnt able to connect the idea of utopia to the regimes discussed. For one thing, I don't understand what elements of Utopia the citizens of Rwanda and Nazi Germany were expecting to achieve.


The professor does does a great job of describing the regimes and the leaders, but I still dont see why regular people went along with this

Good, but not as outstanding as his other courses

I am a YUUUUGE fan of Prof. L. His other two courses are exceptional. This one was not. Although his delivery and fairness are outstanding, the structure doesn't make sense to me. Most of these events are not really related. "Greatest Hits of Modern Atrocity."

Not bad

I liked the beginning and end but felt that the middle felt a bit general. I did learn a few things though. The overall premise of terror being linked to utopian ideals is very compelling.

Informative

Professor is well spoken and unbiased. Good overview of communism, Islamist and nazism. Would recommend.

Excellent course!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Utopia and Terror in the 20th Century?

The consistency across various totalitarian regimes that I had heard about but before this course did not have much knowledge about.

Any additional comments?

This definitely increased my understanding of how totalitarian regimes come to be, and the importance of both being an active citizen as well as recognizing the dignity of each human being.

Awesome Lectures

Awesome, as one would expect from the great courses, although not without its arguable points. Well presented and worth the read.

Listening to ONE book this decade? PICK THIS!

HIGHLY RELEVANT for the current politico-socio-economic issues we're facing in the US today.

Now and then a book comes along that manages to arrange threads from different (artificially separated) areas into a whole fabric in a profoundly meaningful way. Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius does this, and I think this is The Most Important book/course currently given its perfectly broad, yet limited scope, accessibility and clarity that can make dangers of today very visible.

This books shed an important 'hidden' layer of seemingly well-meaning ideas and ideologies and potentially well-intentioned actions, mobilizing hostile masses into super-drones towards a future we don't want, but if it goes too far we might not be able to stop causes set in motion. We can learn about the dangers of the kind of ideas we're heralding as 'good', with an increased focus on collectivistic solutions, hostility and calls for violence, reinforcing negative stereotypes through a new modern technology: social media, that can mobilize the masses at an unprecedented rate today. We need to get these kind of group-identity-politics out of our ideological make-up - cutting in ALL directions - but I see a growing use of exactly the recipe that have lead to brutal murder of certain groups based on what they ARE, multiple, multiple times during the 19th century. There is more talk about groups than individual freedoms and rights, based on universal human rights, than ever before, and a demonizing of others.

Past horrors have been committed, and we would be wise, in trying to correct for these, not to create an even more horrific future by creating scape-goats and create solutions based on groups with immutable characteristics. The best path towards the future for EVERYONE would be to keep up strong institutions protecting individual freedoms and human rights, improve equal opportunities such as education and health care - not engineer special solutions, as it WILL bite back in the future. It might seem slow and not 'revolutionary' enough, and not empathic with past sins, I wish there was a faster and better way, but I don't think there is, and I fear for the current political and societal climate here in the US, with clear signs of what's outlined here. I fear the worst.

I wish more people would listen to this course, so at least mutually respectful, educated solution-oriented discussions (without historical amnesia) could be held in public. I feel as though the 'terror' has already begun. I wish we could be wiser and avoid the horrific future that might await ourselves, our children and grandchildren, and create a future for everyone based on individual universal human rights.

This books is highly important for today. I wish it could be discussed in mainstream media etc, to broaden our thinking as a society about ideological roots etc, and through which means horrors have been created, and how good - far from perfect - societies have been created, and how we can choose this path forward, as a society, with no one left behind.

Engrossing

The best nonfiction book I’ve read in 10 years. Absolutely recommend it for anybody interested in being a human.

A Most Excellent Course!

Dr. L's courses are most excellent. He combines a wealth of knowledge, excellent structure / organization, and superb delivery to deliver thought-provoking, informative, and enjoyable courses.

Quite good, more euro-centric than I was hoping

I've quite enjoyed all of Liulevicious's lectures, but this was more a recap of WWI, WWII, and the Cold War with a focus on the dictators than a broader exploration of utopia and terror, I felt. Like, there were multiple chapters dedicated to WWII and Hitler but just two for all history outside of Europe/Russia. Maybe I just misunderstood the scope of the thesis, or Europe is basically all there is to talk about in this area? Anyway, still enjoyable and worth listening to for sure!