l necessity of such an act on Stalin'spart. In the end, totalitarianism meant a "permanent revolution," an unfinishedrevolution in which rapid and profound change imposed from above simply went onforever. Of course, a permanent revolution also means that the revolution is never over.The individual is constantly striving for a goal which has been placed just a hair out ofreach. In this way, society always remains mobilized for continual effort. The first exampleof such a permanent revolution was Joseph Stalin's "revolution from above," which heinstituted in 1927 and 1928. After having suppressed his enemies on both the left and theright, as well as the center, Stalin issued the "general party line." Anyone who deviatedfrom that line was condemned to either exile or execution -- in most cases, execution.Stalin's aim was to create a new kind of society and a new human personality to inhabitthat society: socialist man and socialist woman. At the same time, a strong army wouldhave to be built as well as a powerful industrial economy. Once everything was owned bythe State, Stalin believed, a new kind of human personality would emerge. The Sovietsunder Stalin were by no means successful. Just the same, the Soviets did build a newsociety, one whose basic outlines survived right down to the late 1980s. However, Stalinist society did have its frightening aspects and none was more frighteningthan the existence of brutal, unrestrained police terrorism. First used against the wealthypeasants or kulaks during the 1920s and 1930s, terror was increasingly used against partymembers, administrators and ordinary people. No one would ever be above suspicion --except Stalin, of course. Some were victims of terror for deviating from the party line --others were victims for no apparent reason other than Stalin's moodiness. One Sovietrecalled that in 1931, "we all trembled because there was no way of getting out of it. Evena Communist can be caught. To avoid t...
