PERIODIZATION:1914 - PRESENT

CONTINUITIES AND CHANGES IN THE PERIOD

CONTINUITIES, BREAKS1914 – 1939 and 1939 - 1945

30 Year World WarNationalism triumphantWestern Europe at peak, beginning of challenge

1945 – 1989Bipolar World of US, USSRDecolonization, Internationalism Globalization, Consumerism

1989 – PresentMulti-polar worldDecreased emphasis on ideologiesThe universal or global village?Rise of fundamentalism (reaction)

GREAT TRANSFORMATIONPrior to the 20th Century

Completed • In Western Europe• In the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand• In Japan

Beginning but not completed• In Russia• In Eastern and Southern Europe

In the 20th CenturyCompleted

• In Eastern Europe, Latin America• In East Asia (China, Korea, Vietnam)• In Parts of Southeast Asia• In India, Central Asia including Mongolia• In Turkey, Israel and a few SW Asian, North African nations• In a few African nations such as South Africa

Beginning but not completed• In Most of Africa• In Most of the Muslim world

TRADITIONChallenged by

ModernismIndustrializationConsumerismSecularizationWesternization

Often unable to compete, survive

TRADITIONAL ECONOMIESProduce within a small communityGeneral uniformity of tasks, opportunitiesChange is slow and distrustedGenerally autarkicDecisions based on tradition, elders, pastLow, few or little

SurplusTechnologyCapital

Labor intensiveMuch land, resources held in commonProduction = consumptionMinimal trade

MARKET ECONOMYSpecializationTechnology intensiveUse artificial powerProduce surplusesProfits are strongest motivationDominated by credit, monetary institutionsTrade criticalSupply and demand determine price, availabilityLabor bought and sold as a factorProducts bought not produced by individual laborHighly mechanized, technologized

CONSUMERISMWorkers

Paid in wages, creating demandWorkers need, creating supply•Clothing, Housing, Food, Medicine•Luxuries, Entertainment, Transportation

Workers acquired free timeMass manufacture of consumer goodsMass marketing of elite culture

URBANIZATIONFocus of transformation is the cityMost industries, opportunities located in citiesTo grow large, cities need

Steel to build upRail to transport around, bring in foodMass power to support life

Cities growUrban areasMetropolitan areasSuburbsMegapolisConurbations

SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPSCommunity or Society

Community is small and personal; villages and traditionsSociety is large and held together by permanent large institutions

Lifestyle changesExtended families tended to be norm at startFamilies tend to become nuclearFamilies tend to be fragmented, not contiguousWomen tend to become workersWomen often acquire rights, powers in societyWorkers tend to become more educatedChildhood lengthened, adulthood delayedUniversal education is expanded

Pace of life much acceleratedTemporary relationships become commonChange becomes frequent

MASS POLITICSExpansion of electorate

Universal male suffrageUniversal female suffrageEnfranchisement of minorities

Politics Is seen as marketplace of ideasCompetition and compromise to obtain change

Rise of political partiesParties become common, open to allParties represent diverse factionsPeople vote their interests

Modern technology creates mass politicsAge of Information leads to competition of ideasRise of ideologiesParties compete for voters

Modern technology allows for mass controlRise of totalitarian ideologiesRise of single party dictatorships

BUREAUCRATIZATIONPower of the state

State minimally intrusive prior to 19th centuryGenerally confined to politics, military, lawExpands massively into

• Social areas and concerns• Economics, Industry, Commerce

Rolls created by war, increased technologyBureaucrats

Become new social elitesRegulate all aspects of public lifeOversees expanding roll of government

SECULARIZATIONProcess begun by Enlightenment

Idea of progress, reform, perfectibilityNotion of natural law, scienceReligion is a personal matter not public concern

Science Knowledge appliedTechnology accelerates, achieves almost utopian world

Scientist replaces clergymanClergy explains by faithScientist explains by experimentation, proofGod diminished as irrational, unprovable

Separation of church and stateHumanism

Human (civil) law replaces God’s lawHuman concerns, understandings dominate society

Rise of ideology to replace theologyConflict between fundamentalism and humanism

DECOLONIZATIONDEMOCRATIZATION

Breakup of Western EmpiresWorld War I challenged western controlDepression loosened links to mother countriesWorld War II destroyed Western invincibilityDemocracy, US begin to insist up independencePolitical vs. Social, Economics Decolonization

Self-Determination and Democratization Wilson’s 14 Points, FDR and US modelUN Declaration of Human Rights

GLOBALIZATIONBegan with imperialism, coloniesExpanded due to industrialization, tradeNecessary for market economy, free tradeMade possible by mass communication

Telephone, telegraph, televisionAirplane, steam vesselComputer, Internet, instant communication

Made unavoidable by economic specializationFostered by “universalizing agents”

Mass entertainment and cultureImmigration and migration for workMass religion

DEMOGRAPHICSHow much population is too much?Control factors

Birth rateDeath rateLife span

Phases I: Prior to 1450 (World)

• High Birth, High Death• Slow population growth

II: Europe 16-18th Centuries• High Birth rate, declining death rate• Population increase

III: Europe, US, Canada: 19th century; world 20th century• High Birth rate, low death rate, longer life span• Population explosion

IV: Europe, US, Japan late 20th century• Low Birth Rate, Low Death Rate• Declining Population

ENVIRONMENT1750 – 1914 Saw European, parts of American areas effected20th Century has seen effects spread throughout the world 20th Century has been an environmental disasterExamples

Overpopulation and massive megapolis Deforestation especially of tropical zonesDesertification has increased due to overgrazing, overfarmingOverfishing of rich areas had reduced catches to extremely low areasHunting of whales and sharks to near extinctionOvergrazing of fragile zonesMass extinctions of animalsSettlement of fragile zones (tide waters, coastal zones)Overuse of aquifersPollution of the Arctic, AntarcticEnvironmental pollutants (fertilizers, radioactive ores) have made areas unlivableReduction of habitats and zones in transition to farming, loggingPollution

• Water• Air• Land