Age of Empires Ch9-13

Chapter 9 discusses how arts movements linked many Europeans through the transfer of ideas, emotions, and values. One of the most prominent being the ideology of social change. Art of the early 1900s was revolutionized by the onset of industrialized, mass produced entertainment. Chapter 10 covers the ways in which the sciences were revolutionized by great scientists , mathematicians, and physicists around the turn of the 20th century. The scientific breakthroughs occurring lead to a divergence in the ways many people saw the world. Chapter 11 ties in with chapter 10, detailing the ways in which mass educations spread through Europe. Mass education brought about rising literacy rates, an informed populous, and a decline in religion. Chapter 12 builds on the steps leading to the first World War. The collapse or revolution of many territories are covered including: Germany, Russia, Morocco, the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg Empire, China, and Mexico. Chapter 13 focuses on reasons and factors culminating WWI. Capitalism, economics, politics, and nationalism played major roles in influencing the beginning and outcome of the war.

I find it interesting that capitalism became both a proponent and opponent of war to some degree. On one hand military spending spurs the economy through a high demand for manufactured war goods. But it also disrupts international trade and resource supplies. What other factors do you think war plays on a nation's economy? Do you think war is overall beneficial or detrimental to economic development?

-Derek Leidemann