作者：张兴贵
编辑：韩立华 责任编辑：李聪玲 翻译：吴可正
赫鲁晓夫评价斯大林：他指导过科学，指导过军事，指导过经济，指导过工人做工，指导过农民种地，指导过作家写作，还指导过女青年杀猪，指导过精神病院，他上知天文，下知地理……他是神吗？他只不过是格鲁吉亚的一个乡巴佬，如果没有权力，他就是一堆臭狗屎。
权力崇拜，这种将凡人奉为“全知全能”神的荒诞现象，并非凭空而生，而是极权制度土壤里滋生出的毒瘤。它以恐惧、谎言和人性弱点为养料，营造出一张覆盖整个社会的迷雾。赫鲁晓夫对斯大林的嘲讽——“没权力，他就是一堆臭狗屎”，不仅揭露了个人的虚伪，更指向了极权制度的核心病灶。
一、权力的绝对集中：神坛的基石
极权制度的首要根源，在于权力的绝对集中。在这样的体制下，权力不是分散的、受制约的，而是被压缩成一个单一的点——领袖或核心集团。所有决策、资源、甚至思想，都必须围绕这个“中心”运转。这种集中不仅消灭了分权制衡，也消灭了异见的空间。领袖被塑造成“全能”的象征，因为他掌控了一切：从军队到工厂，从课堂到厨房。于是，权力本身成了真理的代名词，质疑权力等同于亵渎神明。
二、恐惧与服从的文化
极权制度的另一个根源，是恐惧文化的根深蒂固。在这样的社会中，权力不仅是一种治理工具，更是一种心理武器。秘密警察、监控、告密制度，让每个人都生活在被窥视的阴影下。质疑领袖，后果可能是失踪、流放或精神病院的“治疗”。这种恐惧迫使人们放弃独立思考，学会用领袖的语言说话，用领袖的眼睛看世界。
更可怕的是，恐惧催生了盲目的服从文化。人们不仅不敢反抗，甚至开始主动迎合，争相表忠心。领袖的画像挂满街道，颂歌响彻广播，不是因为他真的“全能”，而是因为群众害怕不这样做会被贴上“叛徒”的标签。于是，权力崇拜变成了一种集体表演，每个人都在演戏，却没人敢喊停。这种文化让极权制度得以自我强化：领袖越被神化，群众越不敢质疑；而群众越服从，领袖越觉得自己是“神”。
三、宣传的谎言
极权制度的第三个根源，是宣传机器的无孔不入。极权国家深谙“谎言重复千遍成真理”的道理，通过控制媒体、教育和文化，将领袖塑造成无所不能的“神”。从教科书到报纸，从电影到歌曲，领袖的形象无处不在。他的每句话被奉为金科玉律，他的每项决策被吹捧为天才之举。即便粮食减产、工厂停摆，宣传机器也能把失败包装成“伟大胜利”。
这种宣传不仅美化领袖，也扭曲了现实。群众被剥夺了获取真相的渠道，只能依靠官方的“真理”。久而久之，他们开始相信领袖真的“上知天文，下晓地理”，甚至连杀猪都要听他的“指导”。斯大林时代，李森科的伪科学能横行无忌，正是因为宣传机器把他的荒谬理论吹捧为“革命性突破”。这种谎言的滋生，让权力崇拜的迷雾愈发浓厚，直到整个社会都迷失其中。
四、人性的从众与逃避
权力崇拜的根源不仅在制度，也在人性。极权制度善于利用人们的从众心理和逃避责任的倾向。在不确定和恐惧中，很多人宁愿将命运交给一个“全能领袖”，也不愿自己承担选择的后果。领袖的“指导”看似为生活提供了确定性，哪怕这种确定性是虚假的。群众高喊口号、挥舞旗帜，不仅是为了生存，也是为了逃避思考的负担。
此外，极权制度还利用了人类对“伟大”的渴望。领袖被塑造成民族的化身、历史的舵手，让人们觉得自己参与了一场“宏大叙事”。这种集体狂热掩盖了个体的无力感，让人们在膜拜领袖时，误以为自己也在分享他的“神性”。然而，这种狂热只是幻觉，一旦权力崩塌，群众才会发现，自己不过是舞台上的道具。
五、历史的惯性
权力崇拜的根源还在于历史的惯性。极权制度往往并非从零开始，而是继承了旧的专制传统。无论是沙皇的独裁，还是专制帝王的“皇帝”神话，都为现代极权提供了模板。斯大林的苏联，不过是将沙皇的权杖换成了红旗，依然是“一人说了算”的逻辑。在这样的历史土壤中，权力崇拜几乎是必然的产物，因为人们早已习惯了膜拜“强人”。
权力崇拜的根源，归根结底，是对自由和理性的背弃。极权制度用集中、恐惧、谎言和人性弱点，编织了一张巨大的网，将整个社会困在其中。要打破这种崇拜，唯有回归理性与自由：分散权力，让制度制约人，而不是人凌驾于制度；鼓励质疑，让真相取代谎言；尊重个体，让每个人都能自由思考，而非盲从“领袖”。
The Roots of Power Worship
Abstract: Using the Soviet Union under Stalin as an example, this article reveals five roots of power worship under totalitarian systems: absolute concentration of power, a culture of fear, the propaganda machine, human nature, and historical inertia.
Author: Zhang Xinggui
Editor: Han Lihua Responsible Editor: Li Congling Translator: Wu Kezheng
Khrushchev once commented on Stalin: he directed science, directed the military, directed the economy, directed workers in their labor, directed farmers in their planting, directed writers in their writing, even directed young women in slaughtering pigs, and directed psychiatric hospitals. He knew astronomy above and geography below… Was he a god? He was nothing but a Georgian hillbilly—without power, he was just a pile of stinking dung.
Power worship—the absurd phenomenon of elevating a mortal into an “all-knowing, all-powerful” god—does not arise out of thin air, but is a cancer nurtured in the soil of totalitarianism. It feeds on fear, lies, and human weakness, creating a fog that covers all of society. Khrushchev’s ridicule of Stalin—“without power, he was just a pile of stinking dung”—not only exposed the individual’s hypocrisy but also pointed to the core pathology of the totalitarian system.
I. Absolute Concentration of Power: The Foundation of the Altar
The primary root of totalitarianism lies in the absolute concentration of power. In such a system, power is neither decentralized nor subject to checks and balances. All decisions, resources, and even thoughts must revolve around this “center.” This concentration eliminates not only checks and balances but also space for dissent. The leader is molded into a symbol of “omnipotence” because he controls everything: from the army to the factory, from the classroom to the kitchen. Thus, power itself becomes synonymous with truth, and questioning power is equated with blasphemy.
II. A Culture of Fear and Obedience
Another root of totalitarianism is the deep entrenchment of a culture of fear. In such a society, power is not only a tool of governance but also a psychological weapon. Secret police, surveillance, and informant systems ensure that everyone lives under the shadow of being watched. To question the leader could mean disappearance, exile, or “treatment” in a psychiatric ward. This fear forces people to abandon independent thought, learning instead to speak with the leader’s words and see through the leader’s eyes.
Even worse, fear breeds a culture of blind obedience. People not only dare not resist but also begin to actively conform, competing to show loyalty. The leader’s portraits fill the streets, songs of praise echo across the airwaves—not because he is truly “omnipotent,” but because people fear being labeled “traitors” if they fail to participate. Thus, power worship becomes a collective performance: everyone is acting, but no one dares to stop it. This culture enables the self-reinforcement of totalitarianism: the more deified the leader becomes, the less the masses dare to question him; the more obedient the masses, the more the leader believes himself to be a “god.”
III. The Lies of Propaganda
The third root of totalitarianism is the all-pervasive propaganda machine. Totalitarian states are well aware of the dictum “a lie repeated a thousand times becomes the truth.” By controlling the media, education, and culture, they mold the leader into an omnipotent “god.” From textbooks to newspapers, from films to songs, the leader’s image is omnipresent. His every word is treated as law, and his every decision is praised as a stroke of genius. Even when harvests fail and factories shut down, the propaganda machine packages failure as a “great victory.”
This propaganda not only glorifies the leader but also distorts reality. The masses are deprived of access to truth and must rely solely on the official “truth.” Over time, they come to believe the leader truly “knows astronomy above and geography below,” even to the point that slaughtering pigs requires his “guidance.” During Stalin’s era, Lysenko’s pseudoscience was able to run rampant precisely because the propaganda machine lauded his absurd theories as “revolutionary breakthroughs.” Such lies thickened the fog of power worship until the entire society was lost within it.
IV. Human Conformity and Escapism
The roots of power worship lie not only in institutions but also in human nature. Totalitarian systems exploit people’s herd mentality and tendency to evade responsibility. In times of uncertainty and fear, many prefer to entrust their fate to an “omnipotent leader” rather than bear the consequences of their own choices. The leader’s “guidance” appears to provide certainty in life, even if that certainty is false. The masses chant slogans and wave flags not only for survival but also to escape the burden of thinking.
Furthermore, totalitarian regimes exploit humanity’s yearning for “greatness.” The leader is shaped as the embodiment of the nation, the helmsman of history, making people feel they are participating in a “grand narrative.” This collective frenzy conceals the individual’s sense of powerlessness, leading people to mistakenly believe that in worshiping the leader, they too are partaking in his “divinity.” Yet this frenzy is only an illusion—once power collapses, the masses realize they were nothing more than props on the stage.
V. Historical Inertia
Another root of power worship lies in historical inertia. Totalitarian regimes often do not start from scratch but inherit old autocratic traditions. Whether it was the czar’s dictatorship or the myth of the emperor’s divinity, both provided templates for modern totalitarianism. Stalin’s Soviet Union merely replaced the czar’s scepter with the red flag, but the logic remained “one man decides it all.” In such historical soil, power worship is almost inevitable, for people have long been accustomed to venerating “strongmen.”
Ultimately, the roots of power worship lie in the abandonment of freedom and reason. Totalitarian systems weave a vast net with concentration, fear, lies, and human weakness, ensnaring the whole of society. To break this worship, we must return to reason and freedom: disperse power so that institutions constrain individuals rather than individuals standing above institutions; encourage questioning so that truth replaces lies; respect the individual so that each person may think freely rather than blindly follow the “leader.”
