The political jargon and posturing one hears these days seems to suggest that we are in an era unlike any that has ever occurred before. Hope springs anew, there is light at the end of the tunnel, politicians gush, and for those of our elites who really want to impress with their knowledge of history, a reference to Abraham Lincoln fits the bill nicely: we’re seeing “a new birth of freedom”! I’d agree that something certainly is in the process of being birthed, but I’d be hard-pressed to call that baby “freedom.” Some would even say this baby better bears the opposing name of “totalitarianism.” But before we throw labels around, it’s helpful to know what we mean by such terms. What does totalitarianism look like? Robert Nisbet gives some answers to that question in his 1953 classic, “The Quest for Community”: 1. Politics Is Everything “In the totalitarian order the …