The Relationship Between Modernity And The First World WarEssay Preview: The Relationship Between Modernity And The First World WarReport this essayThe First World War, also known as the Great War of 1914-1918, is not an event that manifested overnight; it was the result of ever growing tension among European nations. This conflict was brought about by factors such as, nationalism, militarism, and the Alliance system. An upheaval such as the First World War was witness to the emergence of the glorification of war, struggle, despair, destruction and immense loss of life. The First World War brought about a defining moment in the history of the modern consciousness. The modern world was born anew with a self-conscious awareness of plight and modern society. This awareness has been characterized by a profound sense of the differences between past and present.
The process of modernity has proven to be inevitable in both the contemporary world, and throughout the course of history, especially since the outbreak of the Industrial Revolution and the First World War. Modernity is the “transition from traditional folk society to urban industrial societies,” a transition that inevitably affects all factions of society. The term modernity encompasses many cause and effect reactions, with industrialization as a centre point. The changes brought about by such processes are felt across a large spectrum of interactions and experiences including, education, politics, religion and ones conception of the self and the world in which they live. With this process class structure becomes mobile, and identity and connection to local community deteriorates, indicating a shift from gemeinschaft to gesellschaft, the creation of a mass society.
As Gesellschaft, or society, overwhelmed the sense of Gemeinschaft, or community, as speed and bigness became the dominant facts of life, work and social questions, ambition and job enjoyment became abstract notions, beyond the individual and his scale of personal reference, a matter of theory and intuition rather than experience and knowledge.
With the rapid change in politics, economics and technology, many struggled to embrace the future when advancements brought such drastic transformations from traditional society. The challenge posed by modernity is the struggle to hold on to tradition. The ability to embrace the advancement but never overlook past achievements that have, without doubt, allowed for future advancements to take place, is a defining moment in the continuing process of modernity.
Throughout the course of history, nations have made numerous attempts to gain sovereignty from one another. Strong competition had developed among various European nations, such as, France, Britain, Russia, Austria-Hungary and Germany, especially after the unification of Germany in 1871 under Bismarckian rule, largely due to nationalism. There were many factors present during 1914, which placed Europe on the precipice of war. Nationalism, militarism, imperialism, Social Darwinism and the development of the Alliance system all contributed to the push towards war. Each of these elements threatened the balance of power and relationships among numerous of European nations. Nationalism, the desire for a country’s sovereignty and breaking free from antiquated empires, caused hostility between governments and citizens alike. “Nationalist passions, overheated by the popular press and expansionist societies, poisoned international relationships.” Europe was witness to many shifts in power in the years leading up to the First World War; this is attributed to the growing militarism of nations. The thought that ones country’s power was reflected in the strength of their army, led to armed conflict among neighbouring nations. Imperialism and the desire for acquiring more land was another driving force towards war in Europe, attempts to colonize nations would result in armed conflict and growing tension among governments and the people. Social Darwinism is another ideology that led to the outbreak of war in 1914, “nationalist thinkers propagated pseudoscientific racial and Social Darwinist doctrines, which glorified conflict and justified the subjugation of other people.” The alliance formed between Austria-Hungary, Germany and Italy is known as the Triple Alliance, made in order to ensure military support. The establishment of this alliance brought forth a sense of threat among other European nations, in response, such nations sought to form alliances of their own, shifting the balance within Europe. Consequently the Triple Entente was formed, this alliance consisted of France, Britain and Russia, brought together on the shared distrust of Germany. “By 1914, national states, fueled by explosive nationalism, were grouped into alliances that faced each other with ever-mounting hostility.” All countries participating in the First World War applied industrial mass-production in order to manufacture weapons and ammunition. On the home front, women held an extremely vital role while working in munitions factories. This represents a nation’s absolute mobilization of resources, also known as total war.
The First World War is also known as the Great War, due to the fact that it was the biggest conflict that had been waged throughout history, felt on the home front as well as on the front lines. Following mounting tensions, the catalyst occurred in 1914, when Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Serbia. The war was fought across Europe, throughout European colonies and in the seas that surround it, beginning in 1914 and continuing until 1918. The First World War was a battle, involving substantial amounts of troops and immense loss of life; it changed the political, social, cultural and economic aspects of Europe. The effect the war had on both the political and economic sector was so significant that the First World War marks the commencement of the modern era. Socialist thought emerged due to revolutions in Russia, and imperialism lost its appeal. A desire to avoid further conflict also arose at the culmination of the First World War, and individuals hoped
The Third World War took place in 1949, and a combination of two major wars continued in 1953. Following the defeat of the Soviet Union in a war in 1950, the United States followed the French Empire into the first phase of WWI, and American troops began their campaign. The Third World War was marked by a combination of the following factors. The first was the war had left most of the world impoverished before the Second World War, and it became the leading economic cause. The War began when, upon reaching the Soviet Union, the United States entered a period of rapid growth that it experienced in part through increasing production, and the country was able to export its oil and goods. Although it didn’t see any progress in its development due to economic problems, the War of Independence in South America allowed the United States to have the means necessary to maintain its position as a major and powerful power in Central America, and therefore to begin building the new, more advanced nation. In 1958 it was agreed that for the first time ever that, by the time of war, all Americans and all the major nations in the world would have been citizens; and this agreement was made possible through the establishment of a “peacekeeping” force.
The Great Depression followed the crisis of the financial crisis caused by the Great Recession of 2008; the depression and consequent economic slump became more severe in the second half of 2014, and more countries and people were losing their homes, jobs, and income. The crisis exacerbated the real estate meltdown in Detroit, and the unemployment rate is now at 21%, or almost 20%
In the year prior, the Great Depression had seen up to 1.5 million people lose jobs. When President Teddy Roosevelt was about to enter office in 1939, nearly half of the workers who were living in factory jobs were unemployed; and this was only the best year for the housing crisis in general. This created the need for the Great Depression to slow down, and the fact was that the United States had to rely on its export and foreign-import income to stimulate the economy.
As the debt crisis began in the 1970s, China began importing heavily from Western economies, and the United States quickly created a large number of jobs for American workers. In 1973, after a decade of “investment in our own jobs,” the United States signed a treaty which called for “the reduction of the costs incurred in the provision of foreign labor to the American workers. In return for the increase in wages for American workers, the Department of Labor is authorized to increase production, pay a worker less than in the preceding year, and take additional actions to stimulate the production and services necessary to assure the success of the Government’s efforts to maintain and expand productivity.” The United States also decided to withdraw from the NAFTA and to leave NAFTA in place. Although not approved of due to the consequences of the previous round of trade war, China also took action to avoid conflict with the American government in order to promote its growing trade power and to benefit its country in the current economic environment.
The Second Great Depression also affected China. In the summer of 1934, President Roosevelt ordered the government to immediately raise tariffs of 10%, reducing imports of goods, but also adding the threat of a similar increase. The first thing that Roosevelt was able to do was increase exports to the United States of its raw materials through the export of a surplus of raw materials overseas; however, tariffs in the United States were much bigger. The United States increased its exports by around 3.3 million tons last year, a nearly 12% increase since 1933. The United States was able to control much of the North American portion of Japan through the Trade War with China, through which President Harry Truman signed a Mutual Claims Settlement Treaty, which led to a 50% tariff increase being levied on the Japanese. This resulted in this new free-trade agreement being signed by all the countries in the world. Furthermore, Japan and Germany also signed the Mutual Claims Settlement Treaty in December 1945 between