Jacob Leib Talmon (1916-1980) was an Israeli historian in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem that studied the Modern Age, especially the French Revolution. He coined the terms Totalitarian Democracy and Political Messianism. He received the Israeli Prize in 1957. His main works are The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy and Political Messiainism: The Romantic Phase. Talmon argued that Rousseau's position may best be understood as "totalitarian democracy"; that is, as a philosophy in which liberty is realized "only in the pursuit and attainment of an absolute collective purpose." 1916 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... A historian is a person who studies history. ... The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (האוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים) is one of Israels biggest and most important institutes of higher learning and research. ... Jerusalem (31°46′ N 35°14′ E; Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם Yerushalayim; Arabic: القدس al-Quds; see also names of Jerusalem) is an ancient Middle Eastern city of key importance to the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. ... The terms Modern World, Modern Period, New World, Modern Times, Progressive Age, Modern Age, or Modern Era are recognized by historians as being that period of time commencing after the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, after the mid-18th century. ... The period of the French Revolution is very important in the history of France and the world. ... Totalitarian democracy is a term coined by Israeli historian J. L. Talmon to refer to a system of government in which lawfully elected representatives maintain the integrity of a nation state whose citizens, while granted the right to vote, have little or no participation in the decision-making process of... Messianic democracy is a neologism originally used by Jacob Talmon is his book Origins of Totalitarian Democracy (1951) to describe the democracy by force doctrines of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and its philosophical decendents, as an effective tyranny that demotes democratic principle to rhetorical use only. ... 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy is a book by historian J. L. Talmon which critiques Jean-Jacques Rousseau philosophy of union between individual and state as effective totalitarianism with only the illusion of democracy. ... Rousseau is a French surname. ... Totalitarian democracy is a term coined by Israeli historian J. L. Talmon to refer to a system of government in which lawfully elected representatives maintain the integrity of a nation state whose citizens, while granted the right to vote, have little or no participation in the decision-making process of...

Major Works

• The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy, 1952
• The Nature of Jewish History-Its Universal Significance, 1957
• Political Messianism - The Romantic Phase, 1960
• The Unique and The Universal, 1965
• Romanticism and Revolt, 1967
• Israel among the Nations, 1968
• The Age of Violence, 1974
• The Myth of Nation and Vision of Revulotion, The Origins of Ideological Polarization in the 20th Century, 1981
• The Riddle of the Present and the Cunning of History 2000 (hebrew, p.m.)

See also

• Totalitarian democracy

Totalitarian democracy is a term coined by Israeli historian J. L. Talmon to refer to a system of government in which lawfully elected representatives maintain the integrity of a nation state whose citizens, while granted the right to vote, have little or no participation in the decision-making process of...

External links

• Excerpts from "The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy", (London: Secker and Warburg, 1955), Intro, Part I, Part II and Conclusion
• On The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy
• Israel Among The Nations, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London 1970
• The Unique and the Universal, Secker & Warburg, London 1965
• Excerpts from an "Open Letter to Prime Minister Begin Urging Israel's withdrawal from the Occupied Territories and Warning of a Future Disaster", 1980
• Two Statements on the Mid-East War, 1973