This analysis of the psychological underpinnings of totalitarian regimes is based on an “archetypal” typology created using literary characters from the novels of two early 20th-century Prague authors, Franz Kafka and Jaroslav Hašek. (See Chapter 10.5, “The Fateful Quartet: 4 Ways of Life without Love and Wisdom”).

The fact that these four archetypes were described at the exact same spatial and temporal nexus—on the eve of the birth of modern totalitarianism—indicates a profound diagnostic perception of the oncoming crisis of human consciousness.

The model is defined by two primary axes, representing four specific manifestations of the absence of love and wisdom in human conduct—distinguished not only by their psychological structures, but fundamentally by their relationship to time.

The Horizontal Axis: The Axis of Fear, the Neurotic-Perverse Self, and Linear Time

Situated on this axis are individuals with a fully developed yet pathologically distorted adult consciousness (the Self). Their conduct is determined by existential anxiety, ambition, and the tactical management of their position within the hierarchy.

Crucially, the horizontal axis lives intensely in time. Both individually and collectively, its representatives are obsessively oriented toward future results and milestones that are perpetually promised but never truly attained.

  • Individually: Both Land Surveyor K. and Josef K. direct their entire energy toward future outcomes—securing status, validation, or acquittal—that remain forever out of reach.
  • Societally: This temporal orientation scales up into grand ideological constructs: the planned “Thousand-Year Reich,” the “bright communist tomorrows,” or the promise of a global proletarian revolution. Because the architects and anxious adherents genuinely believe in these future goals, they truly live in linear time, driven by hope, anxiety, and ideological zeal.

Key Archetypes on the Horizontal Axis:

  • Josef K. (The Trial) – The Neurotic Defender: Represents a rigid submission to internalized guilt. His consciousness is paralyzed by fear of authority. Instead of mounting a rational resistance against an absurd accusation, he chooses a strategy of hyper-reflection and perpetual self-defense, thereby legitimizing the power of the apparatus.
  • Land Surveyor K. (The Castle) – The Compulsive Conqueror: Represents a perverse fixation on external validation and career advancement. His Self is entirely dependent on validation by the system (the Castle). He is willing to sacrifice genuine human relationships for the illusion (delusion) of social status and integration into the power structure.

The Vertical Axis: The Axis of Existential Ignorance, the Absence of the Adult Self, and Timelessness

Situated on this axis are characters in whom the pathologically distorted adult Self—characteristic of the horizontal axis—has not formed. They are carried along by the external world, with their primary distinction residing in their cognitive capacity.

In sharp contrast to the horizontal axis, the vertical axis is essentially timeless.

  • Individually: Neither Karl Rossmann nor Josef Švejk sets genuine, long-term life goals. Karl exists in a state of uncritical drift; Švejk’s temporal horizon is at most immediate—such as having a beer in the pub in the evening.
  • Societally: The societies surrounding them reflect this timeless vacuum. People like Karl set no intrinsic goals of their own; goals are merely formulated by individual actors who exploit them. Societies with a prevailing Švejk mentality live in a profound timeless vacuum—a state of stagnation and spiritual deadness where historical time freezes behind a facade of order and calm, and people sink deeper and deeper into a collective Švejk mentality.
  • Historical Echo: In Czechoslovakia before the fall of communism in 1989, this culminated in a figure embodying the Švejk mentality metaphorically becoming the General Secretary of the Communist Party—his political speeches strongly resembled Švejk’s pub chatter and served as a source of entertainment for the more critical segments of society.

Key Archetypes on the Vertical Axis:

  • Karl Rossmann (Amerika) – The Naive, Immature Child: Possesses a standard cognitive apparatus and the latent potential to mature. However, he exists in a state of infantile purity and uncritical trust in the “order of the world.” Due to the absence of adult psychological defense mechanisms, he is incapable of identifying the manipulation, deceit, and power games of his environment.
  • Josef Švejk (The Good Soldier Švejk) – The Cognitively Limited Individual: Exhibits a permanent cognitive limitation that prevents the development of an adult Self. Unlike the passive Rossmann, Švejk responds with infantile hyperactive talkativeness and a zest for life. He perceives the world without human filters, which renders him immune to the hidden, perverse psychological motives of others.

The Functional Roles of the Archetypes in the Totalitarian Ecosystem

Modern totalitarian regimes (such as Nazism or Communism) do not emerge through the isolated actions of a dictator; rather, they require a specific distribution of these four psychosocial roles across the population.

  • Land Surveyor K. as the Architect and Motor of the System: Totalitarianism requires a stratum of ruthless executioners (apparatchiks, bureaucrats, mid-level cadres). Land Surveyor K. provides the regime with the energy for expansion and control. Driven by future-oriented ambition, his pathological need for recognition by a higher authority makes him an ideal instrument for implementing absurd directives, as his identity is derived wholly from the stability of the apparatus.
  • Josef K. as the Anxious Fuel of the Regime: Totalitarian power is sustained by a pervasive sense of guilt and fear projected onto the future. The regime deliberately generates incomprehensible and irrational accusations. The fear of future persecution does not drive people with Josef K.’s mentality to rebellion, but to hyper-compliance. Through the obedient execution of orders, they keep the system operational and infect the rest of society with their anxiety.
  • Karl Rossmann as the Critical Mass: Without the mass support of naive individuals, totalitarianism cannot legitimize its existence. Karl Rossmann represents enthusiastic youth sub-organizations and crowds who genuinely believe in ideological slogans and future utopias. His childlike trust in the paternal figure of the leader and his lack of critical thinking make him ideal material for propaganda. Guided by pure intentions and faith in a bright tomorrow, he assists in building a repressive system.
  • Josef Švejk as the Systemic Error and Internal Saboteur: For a totalitarian regime, Švejk presents a specific type of threat. While the apparatus can combat a conscious, rational adversary through repression or corruption, Švejk’s literalism and rootedness in the immediate present paralyze the system. In line with the Communist axiom “an active fool is worse than a class enemy,” Švejk reduces totalitarian dogmas ad absurdum. By executing orders with exaggerated, childlike zeal, he exposes their internal vacuum and ridicules the regime. His cognitive limitation and timeless stance make him uncontrollable and unprogrammable.

The Dynamic Fluidity of Archetypes Within the Human Psyche 

In a real psychosocial context, these four typologies do not exist as isolated, static identities that rigidly define specific people throughout their lives. Rather, they represent dynamic psychological states and behavioral patterns that are latently present within every human being or collective human structure, becoming activated depending on circumstances, felt pressure, or the degree of stress experienced.

Most people transition through different life situations and social roles across the entire Fateful Quartet, oscillating between the linear time of anxiety and the timeless drift of ignorance.
However, if an individual is driven by all four of these archetypes simultaneously and continuously, they risk developing a narcissistic personality structure.