Blog #7 The Most Recent Century

In contrast to other eras that were centuries old, the most recent era spans only one hundred years. Suddenly we’re faced with the globalization of something new, war. Global division of humankind was created and exists to this very day. Empire rule diminished and was no longer accepted in the modern world. The world is faced with population growth greater than seen in past eras, and the impact on the earth is being felt today and most likely will continue into our future.

World War I launched the 21^st century. European powers had been competing for colonies and dominance of land, so it seemed inevitable that war was on the horizon. Militarism was prestigious and countries were industrializing their militaries. With Europe consuming so many parts of the world, the growing troops were not contained just to Europe; they were in Southeast Asia, Australia, Africa, India, and China. So we start this period with the Great War, better known as World War I, which had a profound impact United States and the rest of the world. The U.S. now found itself the center of global power, the beginnings of a superpower nation.

Postwar brought with it The Great Depression. What led to this seems to resonate more and more with our current history; the Crash of 2008.  Suddenly more people had wealth and materialism that conflicted with social and spiritual values. Social inequality becomes evident to everyone and tensions arise because of the social injustice. It reminds me of the 2008 crisis because suddenly people become aware that the 1% remained unscathed, and the remainder of people suffered the consequences of the 1%’s unethical behavior. Another similarity is that the people believed the failing economy would regulate itself, but it never did. Doubt prevailed against a government that evoked capitalist superiority and had now crumbled.  President Roosevelt attempted to restart the economy with the New Deal, but it never really energized the economy. It wasn’t until another World War, and the government had to spend money within these industries which spurred the economy, did the U.S. see a turnaround.  History sees another moment that changes things forever, the use of an atomic weapon.  Within a relatively short period of time in history, the world had been radically changed.  The use of nuclear weapons has changed warfare; certainly it brought about the cold war between the U.S. and Russia. It is chilling to think that we are relying on the leaders of these two nations to keep the world from blowing to bits.

Transformation of the global economy had taken place which seemed to be inevitable, and this was secured by the United Nations and World Bank International Monetary Fund. The world was not going to experience another depression; rules were put in place to ensure economic globalization and its success.  The world became one single business unit and free global movement would open up opportunities for world trade. As quickly as the global market grew, so did the instability and inequality. Because of lack of regulation, financial debt had grown, oil prices soared throughout the 70’s, and in the 90’s many businesses failed.  The world rebounded and then the housing market seemed to reach new heights only to suffer a crisis in 2008 that was felt around the world. I still do not believe everyone has recovered, and many people have not regained their confidence in the economy to this day.

Strayer presents a chart on the global development and inequality, which shows a significant difference between the U.S. and the rest of the world. But what I find interesting, as much as we lead in every material possession, education, and quality of life, we are the lowest on the population growth chart.  I am not sure what this says other than maybe we have become more invested in our jobs than in starting a family, or could it be feminism taking place?  It is interesting that feminism in the west has a different meaning than it does in Africa. One reason for the slowed population growth could be that women in U.S. find family and homemaking oppressive, whereas in Africa it gives women a sense of security.

All of these revolutionary terms and protests are relative to the region; certainly what we protest for in our country is different than why people in the Middle East are protesting. We may be global, but we still lose sight of many international crisis. I notice the world has become globally socially conscious, but we have also increased special interest groups and our own sense of entitlement, simultaneously. Could it be the result of social media and 24/7 news alerts, that people are being exposed to so much on a daily basis that we cannot possibly absorb the impact of everything going on around the world?