Authoritarianism, in many areas, is the exercise of oppressive power, imposing the will of an individual over that of others. It is a social system that does not allow for criticism, autonomy or freedom. It is regularly used to define a government system that meets some of the aforementioned characteristics. In the social and family aspect, it refers to the father or male figure as the one with the protective role, which uses this to instill macho or paternalistic ideologies.
Authority, by itself, does not affect the physical and psychological integrity of a person, as it should be applied wisely, without abuse of power. However, authoritarianism proposes a cruel regime, depriving those who are under it of certain benefits. At a historical level, this term has been used, in conjunction with totalitarianism, to speak of important governments that were consolidated, such as Nazism, Fascism, Francoism and Stalinism, which made use of their sovereignty to exterminate anyone with different ideas to theirs, in the hope that this will cause political homogeneity throughout the territory.
It is usual for parties that are guided by authoritarianism to find a high rate of corruption, linked to economic, political and social issues. Some authors describe the leaders of these regimes as "tyrants", in all the pejorative sense of the word. Despite this, not only politicians immerse themselves in the world of authoritarianism; the respective churches of the dominant religion in a certain territory can, if empowered, rule under a closed concept, based only on the teachings that their sacred texts can provide.
