Hannah Arendt’s Theory Of Anti-semitism

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) is one of the most outstanding and creative women political philosophers in the twentieth century. Since the book of "The Origins of Totalitarianism" published, her thought has aroused a wide attention by the academic world in the west. Arendt’s contemplation about Anti-Semitism is an important part of Totalitarianism, which is the most unique and the most attractive content. As a social and political phenomenon, Anti-Semitism has been accompanied by the development of modern western civilization, and there are profound social, historical, political, economic and religious factors, so academics have carried out a lot of research from ancient Anti-Semitism to modern Anti-Semitism. However. in Arendt’s view, the Anti-Semitism in twentieth century is a new Anti-Semitism, which ravages the common sense, and, as a part of Totalitarianism, Anti-Semitism is not only an important political issue, but also it looks like a Multi-prism, which reflects the failure of the entire modernity. Therefore, just after the massacre, as a Jewish thinker, Arendt reflects on Anti-Semitism, as to explore why the Jews would become the object, which the Nazi "national socialism" wants to clear, but the Jews ignore and show indifference to their own destiny.In fact, the purport of Arendt’s thought is not limited to reflection and criticism of Anti-Semitism, but she wants to put the various viewpoints of modern Anti-Semitism in view of the Jewish, and attempts to explain that the absence of Enlightenment concepts from the18th century, such as freedom, equality, and human rights, caused the "speechless" of the political life. So, the experience of the Jews is precisely to prove the bankruptcy of the Enlightenment. It can be said that Arendt’s discussion about Anti-Semitism, Imperialism and Totalitarianism, in a sense, is a reflection and criticism of the western modernity ideas, which encounter difficulties in practice, and she tries to find out the best method for the modern people to solve the modern predicament.Although Arendt puts forward to return to the public life of the ancient Greek in order to solve the modern predicament, while we should start from Arendt and beyond Arendt. In fact, the constitutional democracy, which asks to respect the individual rights, is still institutional barriers to prevent Totalitarianism and Anti-Semitism.