World at the beginning of the 20th century country table. Industrial development of the world in the first half of the 20th century
Countries of the world by the beginning of the 20th century. differed not only in their position as metropolises and colonies. The gap between the major powers and the rest of the world was determined primarily by the level economic development. In most countries Western Europe, North America and Japan developed an industrial society. These countries have gone through the industrial revolution. The new technique was not only widely used in industry, but was increasingly used in agriculture, which later led to fundamental changes in this ancient sphere of human activity. In Africa and most of Asia, industrialization has not yet begun.
Political development at the beginning of the 20th century. The form of government at the beginning of the 20th century monarchies prevailed. All the states of America were republics, and in Europe they were only France and Switzerland. However, in most states, the power of the monarch was limited by popular representatives (Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, Germany, Japan, etc.). In some countries the monarch continued to play essential role in management. Elections were nowhere universal (for example, women were deprived of voting rights). Even in many republics there were despotic regimes.
The struggle for the redivision of the world. As a result of the improvement of transport, it has become much easier to transport raw materials and finished products over long distances. This is what prompted the developed countries to new colonial conquests. As a result, a struggle for the redivision of the world unfolded. This course was especially persistently taken by the states that were late to the division of the colonies, but then turned into powerful industrial powers. In 1898, the United States attacked Spain under the slogan of the liberation of its colonies. As a result, Cuba gained formal independence, which actually became the possession of the United States. The United States also ceded the Hawaiian Islands and the Panama Canal zone.
Germany in the XIX in. seized Southwest and Southeast Africa (Cameroon, Togo), bought the Caroline and Mariana Islands from Spain in pacific ocean. Japan took over Taiwan, sought to establish itself in Korea. But both Germany and Japan considered themselves deprived colonies. In addition to the Spanish-American War of 1898, the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) are considered the first wars for the redivision of the world. As a result of the victory over Russia in Russo-Japanese War Japan established itself in Korea and strengthened its position in China.
Economy of the leading European countries.
The decisive factor in the economic and political development Great Britain was left with the exploitation of huge colonial possessions and the growth of the export of capital. Due to this, England, despite the loss of industrial hegemony, remained among the developed countries. However, gain economic problems led to the growth of the labor movement and the emergence in 1906 on the basis of a number of trade unions of a new Labor (workers') party. Economic difficulties, increased spending on armaments, a new wave of Ireland's struggle for independence created big problems.
Despite a significant industrial boom, France lagged behind others major states. main reason The comparative backwardness of French industry was in the peculiarities of its economy. It was usurious in nature, capital was exported abroad, often in the form of state loans. The slowdown in the pace of economic development, the backward labor legislation and the increase in taxes due to increased spending on armaments led to the strengthening of the positions of the socialists.
At the beginning of the XX century. by level industrial production Germany moved into first place in Europe. The predominant development of heavy industry was caused to a large extent by the needs of the army, railway construction and shipbuilding. Powerful monopolies were created. In preparation for the redistribution of the world, Germany increased its military spending. In 1914, she ranked second in the world in terms of the number of warships, second only to England. Ideas of militarism and chauvinism were widespread in German society.
Problems of modernization. Many countries faced the problem of modernization - economic, social, political and cultural transformations aimed at creating a society that met the requirements of the era. The states of Western Europe served as a model. However, in the XIX century. the only fairly successful experience of modernization took place in Japan. These reforms paved the way for rapid industrial development, the spread of civil liberties, and education. At the same time, the Japanese did not abandon their traditions, did not destroy their usual way of life.
social movements.
The rapid industrial development of a number of countries and the increase in the number of workers led to the growth of social movements. The association of trade unions in the federation began. This is how the American Federation of Labor (AFL) arose in the USA (1886), the General Confederation of Labor in France (1895), and others. wages and the establishment of an 8-hour working day. Anarcho-syndicalist ideas were spreading in the labor movement. Proponents of these ideas rejected political struggle parties, believing that workers should unite only in trade unions, the main form of their struggle should be " direct action- strikes, boycott, sabotage.
Social reforms. In order to maintain stability in society and under the pressure of the population, the most far-sighted representatives of the ruling circles sought to continue social reforms. On this path at the beginning of the 20th century. were made important steps. In England, the left wing of the Liberal Party acted as an intermediary between employers and workers. In 1906, a law was passed on compensation for workers injured in industrial accidents. In 1908, an 8-hour working day was established for miners. Pensions were introduced for workers from the age of 70. There was a law on insurance of workers for sickness and unemployment. Prominent in 1909 political figure the Liberal Lloyd George, who was the Chancellor of the Exchequer, proposed a budget called "People's". About 10 million pounds were allocated for social spending.
In the USA, President T. Roosevelt proclaimed a campaign against abuses by monopolies. Laws have been enacted to protect natural resources, against the ownerless use of land and water. Control over the quality of food and medicines was introduced. Scientific and technical progress. Distinctive feature development of society in the first half of the XX century. was the rapid quantitative and qualitative growth of industry and the same rapid growth of its scientific and technical basis.
In the field of technology highest value had electrification industrial enterprises and transport, the transition to an automatic system of machines, the widespread use of engines internal combustion, improvement chemical technology. One of decisive factors development new technology was the use of electricity. Electrification has become the basis technical progress, causing a more efficient use of natural energy resources and rational distribution of productive forces.
International relations in 1900-1914.
Plans for military-political blocs in Europe. At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century. developed in Europe two opposing military-political alliances: Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) and Entente (France, Russia, Great Britain). They hatched grandiose plans to rebuild the world.
England sought to become even more of a "Great Britain", designed to subjugate most of the world to its influence.
Germany made plans to create Greater Germany”, “Middle Europe”, which would cover Austria-Hungary, the Balkans, Western Asia, the Baltic states, Scandinavia, Belgium, Holland and part of France, she wanted to become a huge colonial empire with a sphere of influence in South America.
France sought not only to return Alsace and Lorraine, but also to annex the Ruhr, to expand the colonial empire.
Russia wanted to seize the Black Sea straits, expand influence in the Pacific Ocean.
Austria-Hungary sought the defeat of Serbia in order to strengthen its hegemony in the Balkans. The United States and Japan built broad plans of conquest.
By 1914, the arms race in the world had reached huge size. Germany without cutting maritime program, feverishly increased the land army. Together with her ally Austria-Hungary, she had at her disposal 8 million people trained in military affairs. In the Entente camp there were more military trained, but german army was technically better equipped. The Entente countries also rapidly increased their armed forces. However, the military programs of France and Russia were late. Their implementation was planned only for 1916-1917. The German war plan, which provided for a quick (blitzkrieg) war on two fronts - Western and Eastern, was developed by Schlieffen.
The main idea was to strike at France through Belgium. The objectives of the operation were the encirclement and defeat French armies. Against the Russian armies, defensive actions with limited forces were first envisaged. After the defeat of the French, it was supposed to transfer troops to the east and defeat Russia. The plans of the French command were mainly of a wait-and-see nature, since both in military-industrial terms and in terms of the size of the army, France was inferior to Germany. England did not seek broad participation in the land war, hoping to shift its entire burden onto Russia and France. Russian political and strategic interests demanded that the main efforts be directed against Austria-Hungary.
Balkan Wars . The eve of the First World War is called Balkan Wars. They began as the final stage in the liberation of the Balkan Peninsula from the centuries-old Turkish yoke. who played decisive role in the First Balkan War, Bulgaria strengthened its position, which caused discontent among its allies. The result was the Second Balkan War in 1913. Bulgaria, supported by Germany and Austria-Hungary, was defeated and lost some of its recent gains.
Starting from the 19th and almost until the middle of the 20th century. changes occur that can be characterized as a statement industrial society.
It is characterized by the following features:
- the dominance of the electric power industry in the industry;
- invention of new types of fuel;
- new modes of transport(railroads, steamships, automotive industry, later - aviation);
- urbanization of the population;
- formation of the military-industrial complex and so on.
These and other achievements made it possible to create new industries, and this, in turn, required large material costs. Therefore, united industrial and financial societies are beginning to form. In addition, in the conditions of an industrial society, competition is intensifying, which also pushed entrepreneurs to unite. All this led to such a new phenomenon as monopolization. The first monopolies were the American "Standard Oil" D. Rockefeller, since 1872 controls oil production and oil refining, and others.
Under these conditions, the states tried to control the economic situation by passing laws that did not allow monopolies to jeopardize competition. This is how it was formed state-monopoly capitalism.
Students should also remember that it was during this period that international (or transnational) corporations began to be created.
However, the global development process has been uneven. Some countries: the USA, Germany, Japan took the lead, and such countries of the old world as England and France began to lag behind.
The United States developed especially rapidly.
Causes such developments were:
- fairly large raw material resources;
- modernization of industry;
- the influx of skilled emigrants;
- protectionism in government policy regarding trade. fast paced Germany's development was determined by:
- the strengthening of the role of the military-industrial complex, which gave huge orders to industry;
- modernization of technical equipment;
- unification of the country.
Japan in the second half of the 19th century. as a result of the war between northern and southern parts country (1867-1869 biennium) began an active modernization of the economy. new emperor, named Meiji (educated), finally switched to the path of industrialization - the "Meiji revolution". Characteristic features of the then Japanese economy were:
- creation of new modern industries industry;
- modernization of the army and navy;
- training of qualified specialists;
- the policy of paternalism.
One of the first monopolies in Japan were the Mitsui and Mitsubishi companies.
As for the British economy, it began to lag behind the advanced countries.
Causes:
- because with late XIX century. the free trade system ended, the English economy, largely export-oriented, began to suffer;
- Orientation of the economy towards lending instead of investment in industry.
France in many respects repeated the English situation. Scientists characterize the French capitalism of the late XIX-beginning. XX century as usurious, which also did not contribute to active development.
Russia, after the defeat in Crimean War(1853-1856), found herself in a pre-revolutionary situation. Therefore, in 1861, Tsar Alexander II signed a law abolishing serfdom. Later, other bourgeois reforms were carried out. This paved the way for the development of capitalism. Russia, albeit very slowly, began to transform from an agrarian country into an agro-industrial one.
So, the most developed countries of the world developed unevenly. This could not but push to the struggle for the territorial redistribution of the world.
More than half of the world's countries were in some form of colonial dependence. the largest colonial powers were England, France, Holland. However, new colonial empires arose: Germany, USA, Japan, Belgium, Russia. Competition among them has increased. All this stimulated an arms race or militarization of the economies of these countries. This process was most active in Germany, the USA, and Japan.
In the ideological sphere, new trends in world development have manifested themselves, on the one hand:
- in the apologetics of the predatory interests of the respective countries(for example, A. Bismarck demanded Germany "a place in the sun");
- ideas beyond the importance of American values;
on the other hand, it appears new term"imperialism" (power). In the works of researchers (J. Hobson, Ulyanov (Lenin), A. Schumpeter), attention is focused on expanding the influence of monopolies, on increasing the threat of war.
It is important for students to know that similar situations generate:
- First of all, aggressive plans of certain circles;
- Secondly, contribute to the spread of reactionary-nationalist views.
Indeed, each country had its own interest in the issue of redistribution of territories. Yes, France has always wanted the return of Alsace and Lorraine; Austria-Hungary sought to expand territories at the expense of the Balkans and the Ukrainian population in the East; Russia also dreamed of taking away the lands inhabited by Ukrainians in Austria and regaining control over the Black Sea straits. Germany generally wanted to expand its borders, as well as select some colonies, etc.
All this led to the formation military blocs: in 1882 tripartite alliance, and in 1904-1907. Entente.
Thus, the world was preparing for war.
Beginning of XX century. affected by a series local wars that preceded the great war: the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902, the Balkan Wars of 1912, 19113. Bourgeois-democratic revolutions took place in the East (Russia 1905-1907, 1906 - in Persia, in 1908 - in Turkey, in 1911 - in China), which, firstly, were directed against the remnants of feudalism in these countries and, secondly, stimulated the national liberation movement in Europe and Asia.
Russia and the World at the beginning of the 20th century.
At the end of the 19th century, capitalism entered a new level of development - Imperialism.
Features of imperialism (monopoly capitalism):
Merger of production and sales
Strengthening and monopolization of banks
Merger of industrial and banking associations
Export of capital and the struggle for new markets
Strengthening contradictions between the leading capitalist countries
Struggle for a new redistribution of the world (imperialist wars)
A typical example of an imperialist war is the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.
At the beginning of the 20th century, changes in spheres take place in Russia, which ultimately leads to the first Russian revolution in 1905.
Reasons for the revolution:
Unresolved Peasant Question
Remnants of serfdom (relation to the village)
Unresolved national question
The plight of the workers
The need to reform the entire political system along the lines of the leading bourgeois countries
By its nature, the first Russian revolution was bourgeois-democratic, because it was supported by almost all of Russia and took place under the slogans of the implementation of bourgeois reforms. The reason for the revolution was January 9, 1905.
In response, an all-Russian political strike. On October 17, 1905, a Manifesto was issued on granting rights and freedoms to the population of Russia.
The peak of the revolution falls on October - November 1905. These were freedom of conscience, speech, assembly and unions. From now on, the existing political parties could come out of the underground and there was an opportunity to create new ones. The oldest party is the Social Revolutionaries = Socialist-Revolutionaries. It was possible to print party programs and statutes.
On April 27, 1906, the legislative State Duma began its work. There were 4 convocations in total. In the first two Dumas, the balance of power was such that the parties could not reach consensus on any issue. The work of the government was sabotaged. Only the 3rd Duma was fully operational (in which the Octobrists (a pro-government party) received the majority, this Duma adopted several dozen laws). The peak of the armed confrontation was the Moscow armed uprising in December 1905. After that, the revolutionary movement began to decline.
On June 3, 1907, the Second State Duma was dissolved ahead of schedule. This event is commonly referred to as the June 3rd coup. Nicholas II did not have the right to dissolve the Duma by legislative means, because in this way he violated his own manifesto of October 17, 1905, in which it was written that not a single royal decree had legislative force, had no force without the approval of the State Duma.
World War I (1914-1918)
This war was imperialist in character.
The struggle for the redivision of the world, power politics in the system of European states
The main contradictions between England and Germany and France and Germany.
Germany at the beginning of the 20th century was the most advanced power in the scientific and technological progress. But she had practically no sales markets, while England and France had enough of them. The formal reason is the terrorist act in Sarajevo in June 1914. The murder of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. On July 29, 1914, Russia announced a partial mobilization, and Germany, in response, declared war on Russia on August 1, 1914. France on August 3. Wilhelm II warned his cousin Nikolai that it was impossible to get into this war!
It was a war organized on the basis of the latest achievements of military technology. Mortars, flamethrowers, aviation, including airships, chemical weapons (gases) were used. Russia entered the war unprepared. In scientific and technical terms backward. Foreign loans for which Russia was obliged to fight.
Hence the huge losses at the front, the defeats at the front were aggravated by the internal crisis. Since the main part of the workers was mobilized to the front -> fuel crisis -> transport crisis -> Production and marketing -> financial crisis
All this led to an increase in anti-war speeches. It all began with economic demands, and ended with political ones ("Down with the war, down with the autocracy!"). The authorities showed a complete inability to control the situation. Conscripts before reaching the front ran down the road. There was a decline in discipline in the army.
The February Revolution of 1917 began with workers' demonstrations, rallies and strikes took place, soldiers joined the workers. 128,000 soldiers who should be at the front accidentally find themselves in the capital. As a result of anti-German sentiments, in 1917 St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd and, as a German custom, New Year trees were banned.
The February Revolution began with spontaneous demonstrations by the masses in Petrograd. Soldiers joined them within 5 days. There was no one to defend the government. Representatives of the State Duma, high command forced Nicholas 2 to abdicate in favor of his brother Michael, who refused such a dubious honor. The uprising in Petrograd was supported throughout Russia. The second bourgeois-democratic revolution won, the main result of which was the overthrow of the monarch. If the first bourgeois-democratic revolution of 1905-1907, then the February revolution was from above. The following alternatives were presented to Russia:
Parliamentary Republic (Cadet)
Federal Republic (essers)
Democratic Republic (Mensheviks)
The Bolsheviks did not immediately decide on a new situation, it was more difficult for them than for the Essers and Mensheviks, who knew well from their work in various committees, loan offices and other institutions. Cardinal changes April 3, 1917, when V. I. Lenin arrived in Russia. He published a program (April theses), which provided for the transition from the bourgeois-democratic revolution to the socialist. The main idea is the establishment of the Republic of Soviets, the refusal to support the Provisional Government and the transfer of power by peaceful means.
While the Cadets were in favor of the war to a victorious end, the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks were in favor of ending the war, but they occupied the position of revolutionary defencism, that is, to stop the war but defend the revolution from Germany.
Petrograd Workers' Deputies, the majority of which were occupied by the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks. By agreement between the Petrograd Soviet and the deputies of the former State Duma, a Provisional Government was created. After that, the Petrosoviet was to dissolve itself. However, there was not a single representative of the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks in the Provisional Government. Therefore, the Petrograd Soviet was in no hurry to dissolve itself. This is how the duality came about.
The provisional government was shaken by crises throughout its entire existence. They were caused by the unwillingness and inability to solve the main issues: land and the end of the war. The Provisional Government reaffirmed its obligation to the Allies to wage the war to a victorious end. On June 18, 1917, an offensive was announced, anti-war rallies and demonstrations became more frequent, and the Petrograd Soviet sent troops to disperse the demonstrators. The Bolsheviks were declared the instigators of the riots, and arrests began. Lenin was called a German spy. On July 23, the Second Coalition Government was formed. Kerensky became chairman. To stabilize the situation in the country, Kerensky turned to the military. By order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, part of the troops should be withdrawn from the front and sent to Petrograd. However, immediately Kerensky began to fear that the military, having put things in order, would take power into their own hands. Immediately orders Kornilov (commander-in-chief) to withdraw the troops back. Kornilov did not obey. Kerensky rushed about and remembered that he and Lenin were countrymen. He turns to the Bolsheviks for help, who were already quite popular in August. The Bolsheviks helped. The troops were stopped. Kerensky was imprisoned. It was believed that it was Kerensky who was to blame for the troubles of 1917.
September 1, 1917 Kerensky declares Russia a republic. By mid-October, the situation has become catastrophic, and the Bolsheviks decide to take power into their own hands. At that time, there was virtually no power in the country. The provisional government did not control the situation. None of the parties (except the Bolsheviks) was willing to take responsibility.
On October 25-26, strategically important objects were occupied: railway stations, banks, telegraph offices, the Provisional Government was arrested. In parallel, the second Congress of Soviets was held, which proclaimed the transfer of power to the Soviets in the center, the victory of the Socialist Revolution and in the field. Among the first documents of the new government, the main decrees were approved - on peace and land.
The Peace Decree contained
a call to the belligerents to make peace without annexations and indemnities,
rejection of secret treaties and secret diplomacy of the former government.
Decree on land proclaimed
cancellation private property to the ground,
nationalization of all land and its subsoil.
The land was transferred to the disposal of local councils of peasant deputies. Land leasing and hired labor were prohibited.
From a legal point of view, everything is correct.
The SNK (council of people's commissars) was created, headed by Lenin. This is the executive branch. The Congress of People's Deputies was the supreme legislative power. The All-Russian Central Executive Committee worked between congresses.
State defense bodies were created:
All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (VChK) to combat sabotage, smuggling and subversive activities.
From January 1918, the formation of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and Navy (RKKA) begins.
People's courts and tribunals were created.
The situation with the constituent assembly.
The provisional government also announced elections in constituent Assembly. The Bolsheviks did not refuse this. The result is the following schedule:
Bourgeois parties - 16%,
Petty-bourgeois parties - more than 60%.
Therefore, the Bolsheviks invite the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries to the Council of People's Commissars (Soviet People's Commissars) and power structures. At the first meeting of the CC, a "Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People" was proposed. This declaration stated the fact of the victory of the socialist revolution, the deputies had to confirm the fait accompli. They refused to sign the document. They were given time to think.
On January 5, 1918, the Constituent Assembly opens. The deputy is invited to sign Lenin's declaration of the rights of the working and exploited people.
However, some deputies refused to sign the document.
On January 7, 1918, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee dissolved the Constituent Assembly. The phrase said at the dissolution by the sailor Zheleznyak sounded like "The guard is tired."
On January 10, 1918, the 3rd Congress of Soviets approved the dissolution of the US, approved the "Declaration", proclaimed a federal structure in Russia, and took a course towards building socialism. Since that time, Russia has created one system Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies. New organization power was enshrined in the Constitution of the RSFSR, which was adopted at the 5th Congress of Soviets on July 10, 1918.
Brest peace. important question remained Russia's exit from the war. On March 3, 1918, peace was signed with Germany. It was not beneficial for Russia, because the previous delegation, headed by Trotsky, spoiled the situation with ridiculous statements such as neither Peace nor War. German troops entered Ukraine, Russia had to pay 3 billion rubles. At the 6th Extraordinary Congress of Soviets, the Left Esserai refused to ratify peace of Brest. They left the Council of People's Commissars, but remained in the Cheka and the army. In the summer of 1918, the assassination of the German ambassador Mirbach was organized in order to disrupt the peace and provoke a war with Germany. Everything was aggravated by the failure of the German army on western front. As a result, a revolution began, Chancellor Max of Baden arbitrarily announced the abdication of Emperor Wilhelm 2 and resigned. In 1919, the Weimar Republic was formed in Germany. End of the First World War. November 19, 1918 - an armistice was signed in Compiegne, and on January 18, 1919, the Paris Peace Conference began to work to develop the terms of treaties with Germany and its former allies. Big Three: Germany, UK and France. Russia is not invited because it has been called a violator of the peace treaty.
World at the beginning of the 20th century.
Most of the world's population was illiterate. Yes, and the letter was not needed: centuries-old traditions and customs then predetermined the life of most people from the cradle to the grave. The fastest means of transportation was then Railway, but in many places it was not there either. The mass distribution of electricity in everyday life was still ahead, then the kerosene lamp was considered the height of convenience. Almost the entire population of the world lived in rural areas. Cities were rare. Their streets were dominated by horse-drawn carriages and clumsy trams. Women in Europe still wore long skirts, and a top hat or bowler hat was an integral part of the men's costume.
The first plane and the first rocket have not yet taken off.
Antibiotics have not yet been invented.
The assembly lines at the automobile factories of Henry Ford have not yet started working.
TVs haven't been invented yet.
But Roosevelt and Churchill, Einstein and Picasso, Hitler and Mussolini, Ataturk and Mao Zedong, Leni and Stalin were already born - those who were destined to become the main actors world drama of the 20th century.
A century ago, Europe dominated the world. Europeans, discovering the world after the Great geographical discoveries, seized it and divided it among themselves. There was little evidence then of the impending loss of Europe's leadership. Special place belonged to the USA. Being at the origins of its occurrence a continuation European civilization The United States rapidly became the world's largest power. A gigantic industry was created in the country. America was beginning to outpace Europe in many industries. The largest entrepreneurs - Rockefeller, Carnegie, Morgan and others - symbolized new era, in which the United States was given leading place in the world.
The phenomenal rise of the United States of America to become the world's leading industrial power by the end of the century, and Japan's alarmingly rapid rise to a military power, promised change.
If we compare the map modern world and a map of the world at the beginning of the century, the multicoloredness of the first and the poverty of the palette of the second are striking. European countries divided the South and South East Asia, Africa, the island world of Oceania and the Caribbean on the colony, their colors therefore prevailed on the map. Great Britain had the largest possessions. France was the second largest colonial empire. Spain and Portugal, which laid the foundation for the creation of colonial empires in the 15th century, having lost their possessions in Central and South America in the 19th century, became minor colonial powers. Later than others, only after its unification, Germany began colonial conquests, but it quickly became the owner of a large empire. Little Belgium owned the colony of the Congo, which was 78 times larger than it in territory. But this does not mean that all European countries had colonies: they were not, for example, in Switzerland, Sweden, Austria-Hungary.
Countries and peoples that found themselves in the colonial empires lost their independence; they were directly controlled from their mother country, i.e. owners of this colony. Only in the British colonies inhabited by Europeans, self-government was introduced, these colonies - Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa - were called dominions. Those non-European countries that retained external independence - China, Siam (Thailand), Afghanistan, Iran, Ottoman Empire, Central and South America fell into the orbit of European domination. But she took other forms. In some cases, these states were forced to call for patronage, a protectorate, from one of the European powers. In other cases, the Europeans sought the signing of treaties providing them with the right to freely engage in trade on the territory of these states, to create their own strongholds there.
Reply
Federal Agency for Education
St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University "LETI"
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Andreeva O.V., Kalashnikov V.V., Puchenkov A.S., Umova E.V.
WORLD FOREIGN CULTURE of the 20th century
St. Petersburg
Publishing house of Saint-Petersburg Electrotechnical University "LETI"
UDC 316.722(07)
BBK Ch 11ya7
Andreeva O.V., Kalashnikov V.V., Puchenkov A.S., Umova E.V.
Culture of the twentieth century: Proc. Allowance / Edited by V.V. Kalashnikov St. Petersburg: Publishing House of St. Petersburg Electrotechnical University "LETI", 2009. 72 p.
ISBN5-7629-????-?
Developed in accordance with the program of the course "Culturology". Contains materials on the history of world culture of the twentieth century. The main problems and features of the development of world culture are revealed. The main attention is paid to the analysis of tendencies in the development of the artistic culture of the countries of Western Europe and the USA (literature, theater, cinema, fine arts, architecture). Designed for students of all faculties of St. Petersburg Electrotechnical University.
UDC UDC 316.722(07)
Reviewers: Department of Culturology and Russian Language SZAGS: Doctor of Historical Sciences, prof. P.N. Bazanov (SPbGUKI)
Approved
editorial and publishing council of the university
as a teaching aid.
ISBN5-7629-????-?SPbGETU "LETI", 2008
one . World in the twentieth century
The 20th century is the century of global history. In the twentieth century World culture in all its forms and manifestations developed in the conditions of high degree mutual penetration and mutual influence of local cultures, which led to the formation of a global cultural space.
This process was due common process globalization- transformation of world history from the sum of histories individual regions and individual civilizations common history earthly civilization. Globalization has embraced the political, economic and cultural spheres. The most important role in cultural rapprochement different countries and peoples were played by modern mass media and communications, which developed rapidly throughout the twentieth century.
The process of globalization has grown gradually and has deep roots. Important milestones on this path were the Great geographical discoveries of the XV-XVI centuries, which connected Europe with America and East Asia. In the XVIII-XIX centuries, the leading powers created vast colonial empires, which also contributed to the intensive cultural exchange.
The high degree of interdependence of different countries of the world in the twentieth century was reflected in two world wars (1914-1918 and 1939-1945), in which more than seven dozen countries from all continents took part. One of the important results of the Second World War was the creation of the First World political organization– United Nations (UN). The goal of the UN is to maintain peace on earth and develop cooperation between states in all areas, including the sphere of culture and education.
The process of globalization has been accompanied by both positive and negative aspects.
A positive development was the growth of opportunities to jointly solve the biggest problems that have arisen before humanity - the so-called global problems of our time. These include the risk of nuclear war, a sharp demographic growth of the population, accompanied by a growing gap in the standard of living of the population in the countries of the so-called North and South, an environmental problem (environmental pollution), political terrorism, etc.
The negative aspects are that the process of globalization in some of its aspects is in the interests of only a small group of the most developed countries and creates problems for countries with a lower level of development. Such results of globalization lead to the aggravation of the global problems of our time and make our interdependent world fragile and vulnerable.
Population explosion. One of the global challenges faced by humanity in the twentieth century is the sharp increase in the population of our planet. In order to assess the scale of this growth, one should look at the dynamics of the growth of the world's population in a historical retrospective. Although accurate statistics for early periods human history missing, we can say with a certain degree of certainty that in the primitive era of hunting and gathering, the population of the planet did not exceed 10 million people.
The transition to agriculture and pastoralism, which began about 10 thousand years ago, led to a significant, but relatively smooth growth. Back to top new era, i.e. in about 8 thousand years, the population of the Earth grew to 200 million. During the first millennium, the population of the planet increased faster and approached 500 million. During the first half of the second millennium, the 500 million milestone was not surpassed.
In the second half of the second millennium, the rate of population growth increased dramatically. From the 17th century, a demographic rise began in Western Europe. The acceleration phase coincided with the beginning of the industrial revolution and the rapid development of science. Against this backdrop, progress was made in the development of agriculture, which made it possible to increase the volume of food production. Advances in hygiene and medicine stopped the wave of devastating epidemics. This led to a decrease in the death rate of the population while maintaining high birth rates. The difference in the dynamics of the two indicators gave population growth. In the 19th century the demographic boom gradually captured the countries of Eastern Europe, and then the rest of the world. If in 1750 the population of the planet was 750 million, then a hundred years later, in 1850, it almost doubled, reaching 1200 million, and by the end of the 19th century it had grown to 1600 million people.
In the twentieth century, the population growth rate increased even more, and the number of people on the planet was (million people): 1900 - 1.600; 1930 - 2.000; 1950 - 2.500; 1960 - 3.000; 1977 - 4.000; 1989 - 5.000; 1999 - 6.000. In other words, since 1960, on average, for every 15 years, the population of the Earth has grown by a billion!
The peculiarity of the demographic situation is that in the second half of the twentieth century. the growth of the indigenous population in the developed countries of the world slowed down significantly and even stopped, while in developing countries it continued to remain high. By the end of the twentieth century. the trend is well defined, according to which in the XXI century. population growth will come at the expense of the developing countries of the world, and the population of a number of developed countries will decline. The population explosion creates serious problems both for individual countries and for the planet as a whole, exacerbating other global problems of our time: environmental, interethnic, interfaith.
Ecological problems. The rapid growth of the planet's population was accompanied by an increase in the consumption of the planet's resources, which increases the anthropogenic load (load on the environment caused by human activities) on nature. This load threatens to upset the ecological balance created by nature. A number of scientists say that the planet Earth has already entered a global ecological crisis.
On the nature and scale anthropogenic load at the end of the 20th century, the following facts can be judged:
Over the past 30 years, humanity has used up as much mineral raw materials as in the rest of its existence;
Half of the world's loss of forested area occurs in the last 20 years; annually about 24 billion tons of fertile soil layer is lost on the planet; from 1970 to 1990, 200 million hectares of forests and 180 million tons of arable layer were destroyed;
5.8 billion tons of carbon are emitted into the atmosphere every year, i.e. more than 1 ton per capita, and each ton of carbon, when released into the atmosphere, forms 3.7 tons of carbon dioxide, which is extremely dangerous for human health.
Thus, the growth in the level of consumption, coupled with the growth of the population, created an acute environmental problem. This problem can be solved only by the joint efforts of all the peoples of the planet.
To do this, it is necessary to be able to coordinate the interests of different peoples, which is far from easy to do in the modern world.
North and South: Deepening the gap. In the 20th century, a sharp gap in the levels of development and prosperity clearly manifested itself and became an important factor in international relations. different peoples planets. This or that gap has always taken place in world history. In the 20th century, it firstly increased dramatically, and secondly, became especially noticeable as a result of the development of mass media and communication, which allowed people in all corners of the world to observe how other people live.
In the 20th century, a group of developed countries was formed, which sharply broke away from other countries in terms of living standards. This group of countries is conventionally referred to as "North", although it includes not only the countries of Western Europe, but also North America but also Japan, Australia and New Zealand. It is customary to designate poor countries by the term "South", which is also conditional.
The gap between the North and the South began to take shape in the era of the New Age, when Western Europe, in terms of development, left behind the leading countries of Asia. If by the beginning of the 15th century there was no significant gap between Western Europe and other regions of the civilized world (for example, China, India, Egypt, Persia, Turkey), then at the beginning of the 19th century Western Europe was already ahead of the leading countries of Asia and Africa by about 2 times, and in the middle of the 20th century - almost 10 times.
At the beginning of the 21st century, 20% of the world's population living in the rich countries of the "North" accounts for 86% of the global gross product (the value of all goods and services produced per year), and only 1% of the population living in poor countries accounts for 20% of the population living in poor countries. .
Of the 6 billion people who make up the world's population, 4.8 billion live precisely in poor and developing countries, where 3 billion people have incomes of less than $2 a day, and 1.3 billion people live on $1 a day. in a day. According to the UN, today 841 million inhabitants of the planet in the world do not receive the necessary minimum of food, i.е. starving or living from hand to mouth.
There are many reasons for inequality in the level of well-being of different countries. The most important circumstance was that Europe was the first to be drawn into the industrial revolution, which actually turned out to be a permanent scientific and technological revolution. Having seized leadership in economic and military development, Western Europe in the era of modern times increasingly placed the economic resources of the rest of the world at the service of its interests. In the XX century. this practice was actively followed by the United States and Japan.
At the end of the 20th century, a practically unified world economy was formed in the world - a global economy in which most countries actively trade with each other, exchanging goods and services. In the 1990s, when the global nature of the economy became an obvious fact, it also became clear that the main benefits from globalization are received by economically developed countries. In the 1990s one US citizen consumed as much energy as 12 Chinese, or 33 Indians, or 147 Bangladeshis. From the time of birth to adulthood, one child living in the United States spends 40 times more natural resources than per child in developing countries. Approximately 1 billion people live in developed countries, and these countries are called the "golden billion" countries. They are increasing their separation from the rest of the world. In recent decades, a number of Asian countries, primarily the largest ones - China and India, have been developing at a high pace. By virtue of their enormous human resources, these countries play an increasingly important role in the world economy. However, the standard of living of the population in them is still very low compared with the standard of living in the countries of the North.
Contradictions between North and South are fraught with a whole series of conflicts. Economic inequality and the unfair distribution of benefits from the globalization of the economy generate and exacerbate ethnic and religious differences. According to a number of scientists, the problem of the "clash of civilizations" is the most dangerous of all geopolitical problems, and it is precisely this problem that is fraught with the danger of a global military conflict.
The concept of sustainable development: balance of interests. The world scientific community has long been concerned about the problems of demographic growth, the irrational use of non-renewable and renewable natural resources, and the violation of the stability of the biosphere. Within the framework of the Club of Rome, created by a group of scientists in 1968, a lot of work was done on the analysis and forecast of the development of socio-economic and environmental processes. The main conclusions reached by the authors of the most authoritative works were as follows: if the current trends in population growth, production and consumption volumes continue, humanity will exhaust the possibilities of further development within a hundred years; the limited resources of the planet are such that the existing Western standards of consumption cannot be extended to the entire population of the planet. An attempt by developing countries to "reach out" to the standard of living of the developed West will only hasten the catastrophe.
The first attempt to analyze new global problems at the interstate level was made in 1972, when the UN Conference on the Environment was held in Stockholm. The conference adopted a declaration on the protection natural environment and a number of specific environmental programs. In 1974, three major international events were held at once: a special session of the UN General Assembly on the exploitation of raw materials, the World Population Conference in Bucharest and the World Food Conference, also convened under the auspices of the UN. Important role in mobilizing the world community played the UN International Commission on environment and Development, which was established under the chairmanship of G.H. Brundtland, Minister for the Environment of Norway. The report of the commission, published in 1988 under the title "Our Common Future", called on peoples and governments to adopt a new concept of "sustainable", i.e. harmonious, self-sustaining development aimed at preserving the environment and natural resources in order to safeguard future generations from environmental and economic disasters.
The Commission outlined ways to achieve sustainable development: - limiting population growth; - limiting the rates of extensive economic growth and volumes of consumption of natural resources; - more rational use of resources through the use of resource-saving technologies; - a more equitable and rational distribution of resources and products among the peoples of the planet.
The appeal of the UN commission received official support from most countries of the world and was reflected in the documents of the UN General Assembly. However, real measures to implement these recommendations were taken slowly and in insufficient quantities. In 1992, the UN Conference on Environment and Development was held in Rio de Janeiro, which actually recognized the deepening of the general civilizational crisis and called on the peoples of the planet to radically change the priorities of social development in a short time. The conference adopted a document called "Agenda for the 21st Century", in which it committed the governments of the UN member countries to take measures to implement the concept of "sustainable development".
In 1993, the World Meeting was held at highest level in the interests social development which adopted the document "An Agenda for Development". This document formulated a development policy "in a fair manner" aimed at redistribution, social protection and integration of all people and all member nations of the world community.
However, there were no serious successes in the implementation of the concept of sustainable development at the end of the 20th century. On the contrary, the level of the gap between the poor and the rich in the world has steadily increased.
Realizing that such an increase in inequality is fraught with global instability, the UN in September 2000 at the "Millennium Summit" adopted a new, very ambitious Development Program. This program set the goal of reducing the number of the poorest people ("extreme poverty") in the world by 2 times from the level of 1990 by 2015, as well as improving the education and health systems in developing countries.
In the first decade of the 21st century, the implementation of this program is proceeding with great difficulties, clearly lagging behind the planned schedule.
It is equally difficult to create and implement various programs aimed at reducing harmful emissions into the atmosphere. However, humanity has no alternative. Global problems must find their solutions, and they are possible only by balancing the interests of all peoples.
The global processes taking place in the economic and political spheres left their mark on the entire course of development of the artistic culture of the twentieth century. Art arose and throughout world history has always been a way of artistic reflection and comprehension by man of the world around him. And this function of art is very important. Reflecting the world, art, in turn, becomes a kind of key to understanding the entire cultural environment created by man in a given period of time.
In the 20th century man created many new forms and ways of this reflection and comprehension. Innovations covered the entire sphere of artistic culture, including architecture, literature, theater, music, cinema, fine arts and other types of artistic creativity.
The most dynamic new artistic processes developed in the Western European cultural space, or rather within the framework of Western civilization as a whole, since in the conditions of the twentieth century, the cultural processes that took place in the United States, the most powerful and rich country western world. culture Western world provided in the 20th century strong influence to the development of world culture. That is why the culture of Western Europe and the United States is given the main attention in this manual.
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