Over centuries, questions as to how organisations, both businesses and nations, can become totalitarian have puzzled both states and individual minds. The extremism of both far-right and far-left power may be separated by a very small margin. That of governments having complete social responsibility over countries, and businesses having greater rights and monopolies.

Firstly, it is important to note that far-left ideology necessitates that it should be the government that administers its citizens. Communist countries have built some of the most oppressive regimes in history. 

Nationalisation is the idea of industries being taken over by the government, as seen in Clement Atlee’s ministry in post WW2 Britain, and subscribes to the belief that benefits may be recognised in boosting worker morale or creating a more efficient tax flow. The Soviet Union’s nationalisation of manufacturing and mining industries however, led millions of citizens to the slaughter in gulags. 

On the other hand, right-wing ideas often form under the flag of private companies having the freedom to control a workforce. Despite being on opposing sides of the political spectrum, both examples of control over a workforce are referred to as authoritarian. Under totally unaccountable yet totally powerful leaders, as we see in North Korea and Amazon’s business culture, workers are inhumanely tagged to monitor their movement. The result is that the anguish of workers within big business mirrors that of citizens under left-wing authoritarian regimes.

Large companies such as Purdue Pharmacy allowed a pain relief medicine almost indistinguishable from heroin onto the American market. The opioid crisis was perhaps America’s most prolific and devastating example of abuse of power by a small group of large companies. The shocking truth is that dominant companies can create similar outcomes to nationalised state regimes. 

As lawyer and former governor of Oklahoma, Brad Henry articulated, “there is too much at stake for us to surrender to the politics of polarisation” regarding the debate as to whether large industries have dominance, or if the government is the enemy of institutional power. The belly of this dragon may be only vulnerable to the separation of powers in both government and business.  

Whether we consider technology giants with a ruthless business culture like Amazon to be totalitarian, or the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany which have also created dictatorial indoctrination, there is a clear pattern of dominance with both.