Socio-Economic Change After World War I
Socio-Economic Change After World War I
Many social, political and economic problems plagued the world at the end of World War I, leading people to search for alternative solutions. Coincidently as the war ended, Fascism was introduced to the masses. Fascism was everything the people looked for and wanted. It placed an emphasis on the nation as the “center and regulator for all history and life, and on the indisputable authority of the leader behind whom the people were expected to form an unbreakable unity.” (Britannica.com, 2.10.01) Before delving into the complication known as Fascism, we must look at the events that led up to its outbreak and instant popularity.
Edmund Burke once stated, “Social change is inevitable and desirable.” He was never more correct in his evaluation. At the start of the Twentieth Century, massive changes began to occur around the world. People were not satisfied with the stagnant nature of their lives, and change began to occur. What was initially a world consisting of Imperials and Empires slowly began to break up and fall apart. The Industrial Revolution brought about so much change that it became impossible to slow it down and prevent the inevitable. Inanimate objects began to take the place of human power, new products replaced old products in terms of production, and rapid development of cities led to urbanization. New class systems developed, leading to tension between people. The Bourgeoisie began to prosper as the employer while the Proletariat earned low wages as employees who were forced to move into the cities to earn a living as agriculture and farming no longer yielded the income it had once before. As urbanization increased, so did the population and the dissension among the people. Factory work became more prominent as the industrial revolution continued as with the newfound resources of iron and steel that led to new inventions such as the steam engine and the need for railroads and ships. The more these opportunities arose, the closer the empires came to collapsing.
Ancient Empires could not compete with the new Western empires that began to emerge in the late nineteenth century. The new empires were technologically advanced with stable economies and manufacturing systems as a result of the Industrial Revolution. In accordance to the Industrial Revolution, new transportation...