Economic and Political Disparities in the Western and Eastern Europe - Essay Example

of the History and Political Science of the Teacher 14 November HIS-102: WESTERN CIVILIZATION II There is no denying the factthat the Western Europe and the Eastern Europe are akin to two identical twins, who owing to a particular quirk of influences, ideologies and circumstances, grew up to be so dissimilar, unlike and disparate. Thereby the most important questions for the students of history and political science is as to what were the concepts, conditions and situations that led to such large scale disparities and dissimilarities between these two masses of land located on the same continent? It will be indeed an insightful experience to delve on the ideologies and factors that made the Western Europe the crucible of economic development, social welfare and political liberalism, while pushing the Eastern Europe in the background, marred by economic underdevelopment, large scale dearth and poverty and pervasive autocratic regimes. The good thing is that one could readily identify a series of salient influences responsible for such massive differences in these two land masses. However, it is not strictly possible to arrange these events and influences in a sharp and certain chronological arrangement because many of them tend to overlap each other. Hence, in an academic scenario, the disparities between what is known as the Western Civilization and its twin brother, the Eastern Europe are to a large extent the progeny of a range of influences and events like the Industrial Revolution, the interplay of capitalism and communism, the Soviet Revolution, the Great Depression, World War II, Cold War, Globalization, to name just a few. Industrial Revolution indeed happened to be a turning point in the history of 19th century Europe. However, the historical literature is replete with conjectures as to what made the Industrial Revolution have such a widespread sway in the Western Europe and North America, while it left the Eastern Europe largely untouched. Industrial Revolution that began in Britain soon spread across Western Europe and North America. One plausible reason why the Industrial Revolution had its genesis in the Western Europe is the cultural and economic influences of Renaissance that left the Western Europe in possession of the requisite capital and the popular mindset required to fuel it (Stearns 5). In contrast the Eastern Europe largely remained bereft of such influences. Besides, the Western Europe was less stymied by autocratic regimes, absolute monarchies and political instability, unlike the Eastern Europe, which allowed the Western nations to dedicate their efforts and resources to the task of fomenting economic growth and development (Stearns 54). Contrary to this the Eastern Europe evinced much political instability in the times which if given a change could have drastically altered its economy and culture. The socio-political environment of the 19th century Western Europe was amply conducive for the technological breakthroughs that fueled the Industrial Revolution (Stearns 44). Besides, the influx of the Industrial Revolution in the Western Europe gave way to a propitious cycle that led to widespread alterations in the cultural norms and values, making the West European nations more egalitarian, progressive and forward looking. Yet, this was not the case with Eastern Europe that largely remained parochial, insulated and agricultural, failing to open up its gates to the influences that were altering its Western sibling. The other big factor that stimulated the Industrial Revolution in the Western Europe was the fact that the nations in this region happened to be dominant colonizing powers that had under their sway many colonies that furnished the much needed resources and raw materials required to support the ongoing Industrial Revolution (Stearns 36). In contrast the East European nations had no record of being colonizing powers, a factor that could have made them look for inspiration beyond their borders. The other big factor that could much explain the disparities between the Western and Eastern Europe is the early affiliation of the West European nations to a capitalist ideology (Mielants 162). In a larger context, capitalism could mean different things to different people. However, to put it simply, capitalism initiated in the Western Europe a socio-economic system and arrangement where the economic assets that created wealth, like factories, transportation associated infrastructure and communication systems were owned and operated by private corporations that competed in the free markets to accrue revenue and profits (Mielants 162). This not only led to the influx of large corporations in the West European socio-economic scenario, but also gave way to a class system with an upper class owning most of the wealth and a working class that served the cause of capitalism through labor. In contrast the Eastern Europe failed to adapt to the twin system involving free market capitalism and democracy, largely trapped in its own anachronistic political and economic systems (Mielants 18). Commensurately, the social structures in the Eastern Europe remained impervious to the larger influences of capitalism, choosing to affiliate to a hierarchical social setup with its aristocracy and serfs, pushing all possibilities of the adoption of free market capitalism and democratic political setups. If one single thing that inculcated a strong sense of economic and social inertia in the Western Europe, it was the 1917 Russian Revolution. The Russian Revolution assured that the nations of Eastern Europe were to be largely influenced by the ideology of the Soviet giant lying in their vicinity and it made the inculcation of the free market capitalist and democratic ideologies in the Eastern Europe more difficult if not impossible. It would not be wrong to say that though slowly but eventually the free market capitalism would have sought its way to Eastern Europe had not the Russian Revolution of 1917 stymied its progress. The Russian Revolution was perhaps the first revolution in Europe that professed to build a society divested of the inequalities ushered in by free market capitalism. Thereby the Russian Revolution presented to the world in general and to Europe in particular a model of economy and governance that was totally unlike the systems prevalent in the Western Europe (Smith 169). It was the Russian Revolution that brought in the idea that the state could play an aggressive and active role in the economy to build a society based on equality (Smith 169). If on the one side the Western Europe got apprehensive of the Soviet nation that came to exist after the Revolution, the Eastern Europe simply could not help being influenced by its new neighbor. In fact if one extrapolates the impact of the Russian Revolution in a futuristic context, it is a fact that communism defining the Russian Revolution was to grip the East European nations for a long time, thereby nullifying the possibility of an influx of free market capitalism and democracy in these nations. In contrast, Western Europe continued to hold on to its principles of free market capitalism and democracy which eventually gave way to such immense socio-economic differences between these two Europes. Great Depression was an event of immense relevance to the Western civilization. Yet, on flaw that the nascent students of history make is that they tend to treat the Great Depression as merely an economic event. They simply happen to ignore the fact that Great Depression had immense socio-political ramifications for the Western Civilization that eventually culminated into the II World War. In an economic context what the great depression entailed was a chronic credit crunch in the Western economies followed by the failure of banks, stock markets and financial institutions (Rothermund 61). This was accompanied by a rising inflation and soaring unemployment rates in the West European economies and the North America (Rothermund 9). The East European nations primarily being agrarian economies were also influenced by the Great Depression in the sense that it was marked by a fall in the agricultural prices, rising price of imports and dwindling farm incomes (Rothermund 121). Peasants were simply not in a position to pay interests on the loans they procured to purchase farm equipment and seeds, leading to widespread despondency and poverty (Rothermund 121). The Western nations responded to the great depression by the respective governments moving ahead to play a crucial role in managing the economy by pumping money into the economy and by initiating massive public works (Rothermund 47). In America a series of statutory and policy measures popularly known as the New Deal was unrolled by the Roosevelt government aiming to pump money into a cash starved economy and to initiate large public sector projects (Rothermund 58). The East European nations responded to this crisis through market monopolization, cost reduction and debt alleviation (Rothermund 127). In a political context, owing to the hardships brought in by this crisis, the nation eventually fell into the grip of Hitler and Nazi Party. Something similar happened in Italy. The nationalist sentiments unleashed by the Great Depression laid down the groundwork for the II World War that was to impact Eastern Europe for a long time and was to historically consolidate its lack of economic development and political authoritarianism. World War II was an event that brought in immense misery, dearth and suffering to both the Eastern and Western Europe. The War not only led to a massive destruction of the public and private infrastructure in both the Europes, but it also left the governments in debt and resource starved (Baylis 212). The one big fear that pushed the Western Europe and the United States of America to strive for an early economic recovery was the fact that if they failed to do so, it was bound to usher in the Soviet style communism into Western Europe. America which was structurally less impacted by the War brought in the Marshall Plan to help the devastated and ailing European economies (Baylis 212). In the consequent four years the US pumped in a massive amount of $13 billion into the West European economies to help them revive from the impact of the War (Baylis 212). This Plan indeed helped them Western Europe recover from the impact of the War and left it better off than before. In contrast the Eastern Europe lying in the Soviet sphere of influence was not able to benefit from any economic arrangement like the Marshall Plan. Stalin dropped the iron curtains between the East and the West and thereby assured that the instruments like free market capitalism and liberal democracy that helped Western Europe become economically and socially strong were not to be accessible to the Eastern Europe for a long time to come. In the following years it was the Cold War that was to shape the economic, political and cultural plight of Eastern Europe as the USSR moved to install Soviet style communist governments in the East European nations that not only isolated them from the benign influence of the West, but also left them bereft of any economic and socially progressive influences that would have to some extent arrested their economic and political deterioration. It was the eventual fall of the USSR that stimulated commensurate revolutions in many East European nations like Romania, Hungry, Czechoslovakia and Poland and made it possible for them to adopt Western style capitalism and democracy. In the post Cold War world, the European Union has emerged to be a power that intends to bring in the previous Soviet Block East European countries within its ambit. For the first time in the history of Europe, the Eastern Europe has become so open and accommodating of the West European influences. This trend is being aided by rapid Globalization that is not only leading to a merging of the interests of the European nations, but is also marked by an effusive exchange and sharing of ideas, people and resources. In the light of this fact the Eastern European nations though still not being a match for the Western democracies, are gradually moving towards a future that is accepting of capitalism and democracy. However, this trend is also being marked by a rise in nationalistic tendencies in many East European nations that makes the analysts fear of a possible relapse. Hence, the causes that account for the economic and political disparities in the Western and Eastern Europe had their genesis in the historical events and ideologies, which made the Western Europe receptive of the ideas and trends that led to massive economic growth and political liberalism. It was only after a long time that the political environment in Europe became less dense, thereby opening up the East European nations to the salient Western influences. It is this time gap that is eventually responsible for the economic and political underdevelopment of the Eastern Europe as one sees it from a vantage point embedded in the present. Works Cited Baylis, Thomas A. The West and the Eastern Europe. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1994. Print. Mielants, Eric H. The Origins of Capitalism and the “Rise of the West”. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2007. Print. Rothermund, Dietmar. The Global Impact of the Great Depression, 1929-1939. London: Routledge, 1996. Print. Smith, SA. The Russian Revolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Print. Stearns, Peter N. The Industrial Revolution in the World History. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998. Print. Read More