There's practically no totalitarian countries around any more. What a lot of countries are marrying is capitalism and authoritarianism, which sits at the opposite spectrum. Authoritarianism advocates a depolitized society (as William Gibson used to say, 'Disneyland with the death penalty'), totalitarianism aims for mass mobilization, and nobody has any energy for that kind of stuff any more. The young men are all playing video games, not patrolling the streets as brownshirts.
Capitalism and autocracy work perfectly well, as Peter Sloterdijk often points out, Lee Kuan Yew may very well be the most consequential person of the second half of the 20th century, by building the basic model for capitalist states without democracy or civil so ciety in Singapore. In fact the most fundamental unit of capitalism, the private corporation is exactly what most non-democratic states today aim to emulate.
Capitalism and autocracy work perfectly well, as Peter Sloterdijk often points out, Lee Kuan Yew may very well be the most consequential person of the second half of the 20th century, by building the basic model for capitalist states without democracy or civil so ciety in Singapore. In fact the most fundamental unit of capitalism, the private corporation is exactly what most non-democratic states today aim to emulate.