It's not trasformismo, nor is it qualunquismo—it's a political system in which a dictator imposes absolute control over all aspects of public and private life. According to The New Yorker in a book review about life behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, "the term totalitarianism originated in Italy...and was first used, in 1923, by an opponent of Benito Mussolini, who referred critically to the Fascist government as a 'sistema totalitaria.'"
The author adds that: "Mussolini didn't mind at all. By 1925, he was referring proudly to 'la nostra feroce volontà totalitaria'—'our fierce totalitarian will.'"
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