Western Civ 2 Lesson 165

What is one issue that reflects the individualist versus collectivist outlook in your own times? How does it do this?

Individualism is a political philosophy that believes that the individual is the most powerful. Individualists put emphasis on the individual’s own goals and ideals, whilst looking down on government control. Collectivism is the exact opposite of this, advocating for groups while looking down on the individual.

These two ideals can be found embedded in modern day politics. Those who consider themselves aligned with the Republican Party tend to advocate for individualism, while those who are aligned with the Democratic Party advocate for collectivism.

These ideals are not exclusively found in politics, and such ideals can be seen in two major political systems, capitalism and communism. One is based on the individualist ideal, where a country’s trade is controlled by individual private owners, where as communism follows the collectivist ideal and believes a country’s trade should be exclusive controlled by the state.

To conclude, individualism and collectivism can be found in many aspects of modern life, mostly in politics. This ideals are ideals that society will witness battle for all of humanity.

Western Civ 2 Lesson 160

In what senses was the world a dangerous place in the 1960s and 1970s?

There were a lot of things that made the world dangerous during this time. One being, everyone’s favorite, war. The Cold War was ongoing during this time, which wasn’t a war where they fought physically per se, but they did send nuclear threats and spied on each other throughout it’s entirety. These threats did lead to the Vietnam war, as Vietnam got stuck in between the two powers fighting, which led to protests and violence.

There was also John Kennedy’s assassination, which set the entire nation into panic and had put progress on anything to a halt. The Vice President, Lyndon Johnson, had taken office and worked on implementing a welfare state, whilst claiming that Kennedy was planning to implement it himself. This welfare state had made the poor depend more and more on the governments whilst giving them no motivation to work. Johnson had lied about Kennedy wanting to implement his program, and the people were even more shaken as they had a leader who was completely dishonest.

There were other factors including increase in drug trades, racial segregation, Iran kidnapping American citizens, and many many other things. The world during this time was chaotic, and a very dangerous world to live in.

Western Civ 2 Lesson 155

What were the important components of Germany’s Economic Miracle?

There were a lot of components that led to Germany’s Economic Miracle, and the most important ones will be outlined in this essay.

The time before Germany’s economic miracle, Germany’s economy was utterly destroyed due to their part in World War 2. Their currency was rendered useless, and citizens were forced to use other objects as currency, such as cigarettes. They were no longer allowed to import food, and their calorie intake was limited to 1200 calories per day.

The Allies, who were responsible for most of these decisions, had begun to suspect that if things didn’t change, the citizens would revolt. Thus, they sent two men to fix the economy, those men being Ludwig Erhard and Lucious D Clay, which both were absolutely major components of Germany’s economic miracle. They introduced the system of Deutschemark, a new currency which had immediately stabilized the economy. Citizens no longer had to use cigarettes as currency, and there was food to go around.

In short, these men and their new currency system were the most important components of Germany’s economic boom. The people were allowed to eat, and soon stabilized back into normal life.

Western Civ 2 Lesson 135

From the readings and lectures, in what sense did World War II become more “global” during its first two or two-and-a-half years?

Initially, when the war started, it was locked to eastern and Western Europe. Hitler started it by fighting in Poland, and once he had most of Eastern Europe in division, he proceeded to stretch his forces out into Western Europe. Through this, the “Blitzkrieg”, he had managed to gain control over half of Poland, Denmark, Belgium, The Netherlands, Lithuania, and some of Czechoslovakia in a short period of time.

During the war Germany had alliances with Italy and Japan and they’re how things turned global. In 1940, Italy had managed to take over the side of France that they could get into and eventually all of France was under German control. Japan, in the meanwhile, was planning to launch attacks on the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Japan attacked the United States, which at the time was a neutral country. They did this as a means of discouraging the United States into taking action as Japan was planning to bring its forces into the United Kingdom. This led to the United States calling war on Japan, and in turn doing so to Germany and Italy.

The United Kingdom was attacked by Japan, as well as German soldiers who tried to bomb the United Kingdom into submission. As anyone would the UK wasn’t too happy about this, and right along with the US, they declared war on Germany, Italy, and Japan. This is how World War 2 managed to become global.

Western Civ 2 Lesson 125

What are the primary differences discussed in this week’s videos between Marxism and Marxism-Leninism?

Karl Marx believed that communism would be something that would naturally happen as history was written. After capitalism naturally fell on itself, the path for communism would be paved. Lenin believed that communism could never naturally happen, and it would take more than capitalism collapsing for it to happen. It would have to be forced onto people to make it happen.

Historian Richard Pipes wrote, “Soviet Russia was the first society in history to outlaw law.” What did he mean by that? 

During Soviet Russia, you didn’t need education in law to become a judge. While now you would need years of experience and a degree in law to even consider being one, in Soviet Russia it was as simple as saying you wanted to be one. Thus, many people unfit to be judges became judges. They judged not on law, but on their own morals.

Western Civ 2 Lesson 120

How did a political assassination in June 1914 lead to a world war? Why did each of the major countries intervene?

It started with the Archduke of Austria being assassinated along with his wife in 1940. Austria found out the assassin was a Serbian, and thus retaliated against Serbia. Serbia, however, had Russia on their side, and knowing they could do it alone, Austria allied with Germany. It initiated, and countries would join sides, such as Bulgaria, wishing to take back territory stolen from them.

How have some historians argued that the peace settlement at the end of World War I helped pave the way for World War II?

The peace settlement was formed after Britain, Italy, France, and America made arrangements to end it. Part of this agreement was having Germany be spilt in 3 and each part would be owned by a different country, being Poland, France, and Italy. Historians believed that this made the Germans foster resentment, which this resentment is why they had no issues fighting in World War II.

Western Civ 2 Lesson 115

What factors contributed to the coming of World War I?

There were a numerous amount of factors that led up to such a massive war. Firstly, many countries in Europe had created alliances with each other, which meant if one country went to war, then that country would too. The thing that started the war itself was the assassination of the heir to the Austria-Hungary throne, which Austria-Hungary blamed on Serbia. Countries took sides after that, and it led to World War I.

What does Professor McCloskey conclude regarding whether the average person in the West benefited from imperialism?

Professor McCloskey concluded that reasons for the West’s wealth was the Industrial Revolution. Many inventions were created during the time, which led to selling the machines, and thus, people becoming rich. Some Marxists claimed that the reason the west was wealthy was because of slavery and imperialism, which wasn’t true, as the West was wealthy far before Europe started making imperialism mainstream.

Western Civ 2 Lesson 110

What was the Kulturkampf?

The Kulturkampf, german for “culture war”, is a word that refers to the conflict between the German government and the Catholic Church. Otto von Bismarck, Germany’s first chancellor, saw the church and state as separate things, but he wanted more influence than the church. He did this by attempting to restrict seminars and controlling what was taught in catholic schools. His attempts failed, however, as the Center Party, mostly comprised of Catholic, received massive victories in 1877’s elections.

What arguments does Gladstone make in favor of Home Rule for Ireland?

Gladstone was a politician that wished for Irish independence from Britain. One of his major arguments was that British rule being released on Ireland would preserve the good political relationship the two countries had. He stated that more British control would anger the people, and lead to a revolution. By giving the Irish freedom, they wouldn’t feel compelled to rebel and thus make the British and Irish enemies.

Western Civ 2 Lesson 105

What were the key steps in the process of Italian unification?

Italy, before the unification, was a country with independent states. Count Camillo Di Cavour, the prime minister of Italy at the time, saw this as bad, and thus sought to fix it. He first allied with France to make sure Italy had a strong ally. Around this time, tensions between Russia and Austria were high, and Cavour had agreed to help Piedmont to take back Lombardy from Austria, effectively siding with the Prussians. After the Austro-Prussian war, Italy was soon united.

Discuss the significance of two of the major innovations of the Second Industrial Revolution.

Two major innovations of the Second Industrial Revolution were the incandescent lightbulb and telephone. Both are objects that we still use to this day; the lightbulb is used for lighting up areas without the need for fire. The lightbulb made after sun entertainment and activities possible, as it allowed vision during the night. The telephone was the telegraphs replacement; it was now possible to instantly communicate with someone with just a few button presses. It was no longer necessary to write letters, or to hire messengers, as it was instant. We still use telephones, as the base idea of instant communication was remodeled into the cellphone.

Western Civ 2 Lesson 100

Discuss two weak points in the views of Karl Marx, and explain what’s wrong with them.

Karl Marx had a lot of questionable views regarding capitalism, but one of his biggest was that all bosses were money hungry tyrants, that would constantly abuse their workers. While the power of having power over others could go to someone’s head and cause them to act like this, the suggestion that all bosses are the same money hungry slave owners is preposterous. Bosses are needed to assist younger workers in understanding their profession, and whilst yes, there are a few bad apples, not all bosses are the same awful abusers.

Another view he held is that people should be free to do what they wish in the workplace. This idea stands out the most for me because it goes against the idea of jobs themselves. Typically, when one is signed on to do a job, it is take over responsibility for one part of a company. Cashiers are responsible for checking customers out, managers are responsible for managing those under them, and so forth. The idea that one should be able to do whatever they want in the workplace is moronic; what is the point of jobs, at that point? Everyone would avoid doing hard work, because they could. The most important jobs in companies wouldn’t get done, just because people could just not do them.

What were Herbert Spencer’s views, as you encountered them in the reading for this week? Does he deserve to be called a “Social Darwinist”?

Herbert Spencer was a libertarian against government welfare programs, and he donated to private charities. The idea of Social Darwinism is that the people at the top of the free market will always get richer, and the people at the bottom will dissolve into insignificance. Spencer was labeled a Social Darwinist because of the fact he donated to private charities, nothing more. Donating to private charities is not the same as believing the weak and unfortunate will die off, so no, it’s not fair to him that he was called and still is called a Social Darwinist.