Nationalism, Industrialism, Colonialism, Imperialism and Communism

Nationalism is a political philosophy holding that the welfare of the nation-state is paramount, and attitude often strengthened when people share a common history, religion, language, or ethnic background. The term also refers to a group state of mind in which patriotism, or loyalty to one’s country, is regarded as an individual’s principal duty. In the 18th century, nationalism began to take form by scholars & poets who sought to find in ancient legends and songs, the soul of the nation. The cohesion of each national group was being reinforced all the time by the consciousness of its neighbors nationalism. Although it has contributed to excesses of militarism and Imperialism, as in Europe under Napoleon I or under German Nazism, it has also inspired movements against such abuses. It remains a powerful force in world politics despite the spread of trade and communication and the interdependence of nations. With the means of communication, 20th century nationalism has swept around the world to become the greatest lever of change in our day.

Industrialism is an economic and social system based on the development of large-scale industries and marked by the production of large quantities of inexpensive manufactured goods and the concentration of employment in urban factories. Industrialism started as farmers needed to produce more and more crops to support the increasing population. With the inventions like the seed drill and better plows the farmer could plant faster and cover larger plots of land with the help of fewer workers. Also they started controlling the water for better irrigation and using tools for faster harvesting. These changes had to occur to produce enough food for the people freed from farming going to the factories. Power is the next step that pushed the revolution into the next century.

The full industrial revolution developed from steam power and has gone through electric and oil power to the fateful nuclear power of our own day. With all this change do not overlook the immense hardship which the agricultural population underwent in the early years when they came in from the country into small towns where they worked sixty hours or more a week and died in misery. From 1820 to 1860 the workers gained nothing from their new industrial way of life. It was after 1860 when productivity began to affect peoples standard of living. The workers started enjoying the fruits of the system. With the industrial revolution a process was set if motion which is steadily and every changing the whole life of mankind. Today we see the revolution with the use of computers. The tools we have today are a lot different from 200 years ago but they achieve the same purpose.

Colonialism is an extension of political and economic control over an area by an occupying state that usually has organizational or technological superiority. The colonizer’s nationals may migrate to the colony because of overpopulation or economic or social distress at home, but Imperialism has been a major colonizing force. Colonization dates back at least to the Phoenicians, but it is most important historically as the vehicle of European expansion from the 15th century into Africa, the Americas, and Asia. The Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, and Dutch established colonies worldwide that have, for most part, obtained independence from imperial systems only in the 20th century. Today classic colonialism is widely considered immoral, but it seems to be a fact of human nature that when one group of people becomes more powerful than another group. It’s instinct is to take over the weaker neighbor.

Imperialism is the extension of rule or influence by one government, nation, or society over another. In the West, imperialism was reborn with the emergence of the modern nation-state and the age of exploration and discovery. Later, the growth of manufacturing after the Industrial Revolution introduced a new form of imperialism, as industrial nations scrambled for raw materials and new markets for products. There was growing support by the end of the 19th century, when Marxist argued that imperialism was the ultimate state of capitalism.

Communism is a system of social organization in which property and the means of production is held in common. By the 19th century the rise of capitalism, reinforced by the industrial revolution, had created a new industrial class living and working under appalling conditions. Utopian socialists such as Robert Owen and Charles Fourier, anarchists such as P.J. Proudhon, and revolutionaries such as Auguste Blanqui all favored some kind of communal solution to this poverty. In Germany Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published the Communist Manifesto, the primary exposition of the doctrine that came to be known as Marxism. The modern communist political movement began when the Russian Social Democratic Labor party split into two factions. The Bolsheviks, led by V.I. Lenin, called for armed revolution. After their triumph in the 1917 Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks formed the Communist party. In the 1930’s, Joseph Stalin’s policy of ‘socialism in one country’ prevailed in the USSR, but after WWII Stalin created ‘satellite’ communist states in Eastern Europe. The Chinese Communists, who triumphed in 1949, aided movements in Southeast Asia. U.S. opposition to these and other actions by Soviet, Chinese, and other Communists led to the Cold War, Korean War, Vietnam War. Economic difficulties and shortages for food and consumer goods, led to demands for reform.

Internationalism is a policy or practice of cooperation among nations, especially in politics and economic matters. The spirit of internationalism and the yearning for peace grew rapidly among the peoples of the world. Indeed, some social Darwinists believed that humanity might be evolving from the stage of fighting wars. In the early 19th century, large numbers of world conferences met to discuss international cooperation. Many meetings discussed topics like; telegraph lines joining over 20 different nations, talks about handling of mail around the world, and international copyright laws. In addition to the attempts at international cooperation, the organized world peace movement gained a foothold and increased influence during the 19th century.