Gleichschaltung Part Glyk Shalt Toong Noun Forced Standardization Political Economic

gleichschaltung /GLYK-shalt-toong/

noun

The forced standardization of political, economic, and cultural institutions, as in an authoritarian state.

[From German gleichschalten (to bring into line), from gleich (same) + schalten (to switch, turn). The term was used by the Nazi regime for totalitarian control. Earliest documented use: 1933.]

"I think they will see them as a small part of a pattern of the destruction of the independence not only of the medical profession, but of all professions, that is part of the great bureaucratic Gleichschaltung of British society." - Theodore Dalrymple; In Defence of David Southall; The Spectator (London, UK); Sep 6, 2008.