Civilization History in the West in 19th Century

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Introduction

In the 19th century, western philosophers majorly relied on concepts derived from Kant’s works (Kishlansky, Geary and O’Brien, 2008).

The influence of the 19th century western ideals majorly touched on idealism and ethical voluntarism, but more so, there was strong emphases on human will, with a strong emphasis on the human ego , the “I” concept, the human conscious and the mind.

In the 19th century, western philosophy, there was a strong emphasis on the will of the human mind to first concentrate on oneself before, they consider others (Campo, 2009, p. 710).

Do not forget to mention that, the 19th century western philosophy was characterized by a strong inclination to refer to elements of human feeling and imagination at the expense of human reason.

The Doctrine of Mass Society

The doctrine of mass society is greatly reliant on the emergence of a human group living in the modern era, and created after the industrial revolution.

A mass society is defined by the breakdown of conventional or traditional societal customs for bureaucracy and prosperity.

From a broader point of view, the doctrine of mass society can be used to refer to any society which subscribes to a mass culture, which is not sensitive to aristocratic values.

In explaining how the western influence affected the doctrine of mass culture, do not forget to mention that, the doctrines prevailing in the 19th century significantly influenced the concept of mass culture from the basis that, individuals were seen to represent a society of undifferentiated and atomistic people, who served the interest of the capitalistic culture.

Role of the industrial revolution

The industrial revolution created the capitalistic culture which acts as the focal point for the mass culture.

The industrial revolution played a role of creating an elastic capitalist group which controls vast resources and dictates the lives of many people on the ground.

You can mention that, the capitalistic culture works through manipulation and persuasion.

Role of the Alliance System

The role of the alliance system is to secure common interests between two or more parties engaged in the alliance.

You can mention that, the alliance system has been practiced for a long time, and it has been evidenced in international relations, political organization formations, televisions, films, comic books, video games, literature and the likes.

You can also mention that, to a significant degree, the most common example of an alliance system is the First World War, where countries pooled together, under different political entities to protect the interests of different nations. This was largely perceived as part of the start of the First World War. Parties which have a common interest among themselves therefore find comfort in each other’s protection under the alliance system.

Impact of the alliance system

The biggest effect created out of alliance systems is the creation of a large military, and the formation of huge economic powerhouses.

Note that, the impact of the alliance system is envisioned in the pooling of industrial power among the parties involved. In today’s world, developed nations have perfected the art of alliance systems. For instance, the formation of NATO by some western powers has created humanity’s military, which has often been used to prefect the world. Currently, the powers of such alliance systems are evidenced in Libya where the military forces are engaged in combat with the Libyan leader, Muhamar Gaddaffi. This is the kind of power creation that can be associated with the emergence of an industrial powerhouse.

Origin of Realpolitik

Realpolitik was a German phrase coined to refer to the creation of a political realism, which is formed from the pooling of industrial power and wealth.

The concept realpolitik was developed by Ludwig von Rochau, an influential writer and politician of the 19th century, through his book, Grundsätze der Realpolitik angewendet auf die staatlichen Zustände Deutschlands.

Mention that, realpolitik is closely related with the concept of materialism, and the creation of this political realism is often done at the expense of morality and ethics.

Also, mention that, from Ludwig’s work, it is established that, the human formation of political institutions is subject to natural law, which people often subscribe to, either consciously or unconsciously. From this understanding, Ludwig proposes that, a study of these forces (that create political institutions) is the start of the understanding of political concepts.

Perpetrators of the realpolitik ideology

Henry Kissinger stands out as one of the strongest proponents of the realpolitik ideology, through his application of the concept in influencing several American diplomatic efforts, say, that of America and China, or America and Vietnam (and the likes).

Dennis Ross, a former ambassador, also advocated for the use of the concept in establishing America’s diplomatic power in the world.

Obviously, Ludwig, as the founder of the concept, is also one strong proponent of the concept.

Conflict between Bismarck and the Roman Catholic Church

Bismarck wanted to limit the powers of the Roman Catholic Church by appealing to people hailing from the protestant and German liberal communities.

Kulturkampf was created out of a political distrust by Bismarck of the centre party, formed by catholic groups.

Note that, Kulturkampf was a German term used to refer to the conflict between secularism and the influence of the Roman Catholic Church.

Also note that, the liberals, who were also a part of Bismarck’s regime, saw the Catholic Church as anti-reformist and therefore joined forces together with Bismarck to form the anti-Catholic revolution.

Impact of Kulturkampf

A lot of religious persecutions were carried out during the height of Kulturkampf, and this saw the exit of many catholic priests, nuns, laymen and their affiliates, out of Prussia because there was an anti-Catholic move started by the movement.

Kulturkampf increased the involvement of the Roman Catholic Church in politics, and it is known that, by the end of Bismarck’s rule, the popularity of the centre party had doubled, and it was difficult to form any government without the support of the centre party.

Note that, the persecution of Catholics in Prussia did not change the stand of catholic Bishops who opposed several policies passed by Bismarck. In fact, it is known that, more than a third of catholic parishes in Prussia lacked priests at the time.

Conclusion

In mass societies, the western ideals of individualism and capitalism support the industrial revolution, which is characterized by manipulation and coercion to create the mass culture. (The culture of the dominance of the elite (over the majority) is therefore representative of western ideals).

In the alliance system, western ideals of the 19th century also stand true because these alliances are created to guard common interests of powerful groups. This promotes individualism and supports western ideals of the 19th century.

With regards to Realpolitik, the creation of political realms is formed on the basis of power and wealth, meaning that, political realism can only be enjoyed by the powerful and not the majority, who are weak. This concept supports western ideals of the 19th century which revolve around individualism.

Kulturkampf supports western ideals of the 19th century because it was advanced by Bismarck to consolidate political control by decreasing the power of the Roman Catholic Church. Kulturkampf therefore supports individualism, which is characteristic of the western ideals of the 19th century.

Note that, western ideals were highly upheld in all the four subjects studied.

References

Kishlansky, M., Geary, P. & O’Brien, P. (2008). Civilization in the West (7th ed.), New York: Longman Pearson Education, Inc.

Campo, J. (2009). Encyclopedia of Islam. New York: Infobase Publishing.

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