Industrialization and its Effect on a Rational and Peaceful Society - Essay Example

Proposal Industrialization and its Effect on a Rational and Peaceful Society There are many who would argue that even given all of the technologicalinnovations realized by modern society, life before industrialization was less stressful because of the effects of industrialization had on the work life as well as on the environment. Numerous individuals and scholars have suggested that post-World War I civilization became less adaptable and flexible than previous societies. This can be observed in looking at the Treaty of Versailles as well as the works of Angell, Keynes and Junger. These sources suggest that modern and industrialized societies along with capitalistic tendencies surge destroyed basic rationale on which peaceful culture had previously existed. Life before the World War I was very different than what took place once rapid industrialization began to result in greed and corruption throughout society. Empirical evidence that can be found in historical records and through the writings of scholars that lived during the time period in which these changes took place can reveal how the differences that occurred because industrialization made an impact on how society created a rational and peaceful world. Industrialization changed the pace of the world and created new structures of ideas through which modern life was established. The influence of the great industrialists changed how people thought about experience of a day in their lives. Experience of industrialization was defined by stress and greed that was influenced by the nature of ownership. The intention of this study is to focus on how industrialization eroded away the rational and peaceful nature that existed previous to the emergence of a highly industrialized society. Comparing Cruelties of Industrialization and War: Is there a Difference? Name Course Number Date Comparing Cruelties of Industrialization and War: Is there a Difference? No one doubts that the consequence of war is cruelty and atrocity. Wars resulted in stories of terror as much as stories of honor where people die, are violated, and in some instances people emerge as heroes. Another consequence of war is that economic balance becomes unstable which leads to famine, poverty, and death just as much as the flying of bullets and the use of technological destruction. Industrialism is a state of social production which also creates poverty, victimizes social groups, and sometimes puts regions out of economic balance. The following essay looks at a number of different resources from writers who lived during the time of the war and during the postwar period. Industrialism in Europe during the postwar period created a different type of stress which changed the nature of society so that rationalism and peace were difficult to experience. Because of World War I and economic consequences that occurred when interdependency was broken between European nations, the postwar rise of industrialism was a period of unrest and instability. Norman Angell spent a number of years working in various labor positions in the United States before going back to Paris and becoming the editor of the Paris edition of the English Daily Mail newspaper. During this time, he wrote one of his most important works called The Great Illusion. This was the larger version of a pamphlet called Europe’s Optical Illusion in which he made an argument about the interdependency of Europes economies and how war in Europe would be disastrous because it would separate these interdependencies in a way which would be too chaotic for resources to be sustainable (Backman; 191). Interdependency between European nations came from the small size of many of the countries and because of the specialization that came from having such a small size. This meant that trade was highly important to European countries in order to survive. It was difficult for any one region to have all of the resources needed to feed, clothe, and house its people. Therefore, Angell’s take on the economy supported the notion that the development of a war would be a disaster for the economic balance in this region of the world. The aftermath of World War I is depicted by people who lived during that time as a period in which the cruelties of social life due to industrialization were as bad as the war itself. Angell speaks of the cruelty of industrialism as it is framed against war, the cruelties being no worse under industrial influence as it was imposed upon society. He speaks of the sacrifices that men have made in order to promote the interests of industrialization. Men and women took on nature, unfriendly civilizations, and even took on their own nation in order to support the growth of industry. Improving social position or income are both reason enough for men and women to take dangerous risks which sometimes have results that are just as disastrous as war. The difference between war and industrialization, however, is that war is usually fought for cause while industrialization is created for the purpose of greed. While war has a certain type of nobility, industrialization usually results in the perpetuation of greed (Angell; 192). While Angell may have believed this to be true, it is often that economic reasons are at the core of why war begins in the first place. It should be understood that it is usually greed for power or greed for resources that will be behind the purpose of the war. In this case, it is likely that Angell is not talking about the actual people who start war, but the people who live within them and must make the daily decisions within the trenches. In contrast, the people in the trenches for industrialization take on the same risks to their health and well-being, but they do it for their own needs to increase their status or wealth. In this case, industrialization makes the common labor similar to the power behind for in the sense that they are both fighting to gain what they do not have available to them. They are fighting for more power and money which can be defined as greed. Robert Graves makes a contrast between the nobility that men felt during the war compared to the uselessness and despair they came from the hardships of and industrialized life that was out of balance. He speaks of the difference between the way certain men behave during the war and the way in which they were beaten down after the war because of economic circumstances. A man who was the hero during the war could come home to a place where he was once again just to laborer, scratching out a living and barely making ends meet (Graves 196). The differences between how a person lived during the war and how they lived when they came home created a lot of despair and social destruction has been tried once again to find a place where they were respected and could prove their worth. It was even worse for the enemy whos going home to a place which have been dissected and destroyed during the course of Allied paths towards their own victory. Junger described the villages through which he marched as a soldier and areas of destruction that completely annihilated the ability to survive within them. These enemy villages, filled with civilians who happen to share a common ancestry with the government at war, were left without means to survive. Junger describes villages that are left without walls and without the ability to get water or use the resources they once managed. The description of his participation in the March through Germany is a symbolic of the devastation that soldiers leave behind without regard to the people who once called those areas home (Junger; 199). Coupled with the interdependency that was discussed by Angell, it is clear that industrialization that occurred after World War I had to be a reformulation of social structure as well as a focus on profit. The Treaty of Versailles was intended to create balance where war had created instability during World War I. As an example, to the destruction of whole lines in France by Germany reparations were demanded within the Treaty through giving full rights to France for the “possession and exclusive rights of exploitation” of the coal mines that were in the Saar Basin (The Treaty of Versailles; 188). Because Germany had been central enemies to the Allied and associated forces, the territories that Germany had taken on were given back and this left Germany with few resources because so many had been used up during the war itself. After the Treaty of Versailles, it was clear that Europe was a population that could not support itself solely on their own and cultural efforts that needed to create exports through industrialized activities so that they could import the amount of food that was needed to sustain the population. This created an “extraordinary weakness” for the capitalists who had seemed to be powerful and infallible during the 19th century. After World War I it seemed that the industrialists were at the mercy of both the government and public opinion that was b driven by the press. Although peace was within the Treaty of Versailles, the fear of starvation and poverty created a philosophy which was at the core of how Europe social structure developed during the postwar period (Backman; 194). Interdependency in economics means that nations have complementary resources that they can trade in order to fulfill all of their needs. When war erupts between nations, these interdependencies no longer work and the aftermath creates a destruction of the peace and rationale through which most people are able to exist. When the resources that are nation needs are not available, the people are unable to live within a sense of tranquility. Industrialization is no less destructive than war. People scratch out there living by trying to increase their power to status as well as their wealth through profit. Desperation of war is similar to the desperation of capitalism. Things before industrialization were not necessarily stress free, but the development of the industrialized framework created a new sense of greed that infused society with corruption of purpose. Because of this, war and industrialization are not that dissimilar. Read More