MODERN TIME
PART I. WORLD HISTORICAL PROCESS AND THE 20TH CENTURY
WORLD WARS OF THE XX CENTURY. CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES
World War I
At the end of the XX century. Quite naturally, the attention of scientists to
the problem of assessing its place in the history of mankind has sharpened. This
attention is not idle, because the outgoing century was the most fruitful and at
the same time tragic for modern civilization as a whole, it awakened previously
unprecedented, almost limitless possibilities for the development of material
culture and at the same time put humanity on the brink of a global catastrophe.
At the end of the 20th century, researchers have a huge array of historical
sources, quite diverse methods and techniques for studying and analyzing them,
which allows them to move, as it were, to a new level, the level of historical
synthesis. It aims to reveal the general patterns of the historical process and the
possible interaction of existing civilizational options, without which the survival of
the formed global civilization is unthinkable.
The internationalization of the life of various peoples, the convergence of
civilizations on the basis of the achievements of science and technology, the
spread of education, as it were, destroyed the hitherto insurmountable
boundaries between civilizations. In any case, a large group of scientists from
Western Europe, the USA, and Canada defends the idea of the universality of the
historical process, the progressive movement of peoples, and the unity of human
civilization. The outgoing century gave confirmation to the supporters of such an
intercivilizational approach to assessing the historical process. Indeed, the
achievements of the third scientific and technological revolution in the post-
industrial era tied together various countries within the framework of economic
cooperation, brought to life global communication systems, contributed to the
transformation, leveling of the level and style of life of many countries and
peoples. At the same time, these man-made phenomena have put humanity on
the brink of global environmental and nuclear disasters, exacerbated the problem
of demography and resources, etc., thanks to which the peoples felt their
interdependence, the inability to cope with global problems alone.At the same
time, it is obvious that with all the internationalization of life, significant
differences remain within the framework of the largest civilizations - Western
, European and Eastern. In this regard, the point of view of A. Toynbee (1889-
1975), who sharply criticized the intercivilization concept, is not without interest:
narrowing the historical outlook ... "
According to this prominent scholar of the 20th century, Western
historians, firstly, exaggerate the significance of such phenomena as economic
and then political unification, ignoring the phenomenon of cultural life, which is
“not only deeper than the first two layers, but also more fundamental ...;
“secondly, the dogma of the “unity of civilization” forces the historian to ignore
the fact that the continuity of the history of two kindred civilizations differs from
the continuity of two successive chapters of the history of one civilization ..;
“Thirdly, they simply ignore stages or chapters in the history of other civilizations,
if they do not fit into their general concept, omitting them as “semi-barbarian” or
“decaying” or referring them to the East, which was actually excluded from the
history of civilization.
Nevertheless, it is obvious that East and West are interacting more and
more, assimilating the values of the opposite civilization, as evidenced by the
process of modernization of a number of Eastern countries and, at the same time,
the increasing penetration of the traditional spiritual values of the East into
Western culture. It can be stated with a certain degree of certainty that this
process is based on the accelerating internationalization of economic, political,
and cultural life. But still, it should be stated that neither Western nor Eastern
civilizations have yet developed a panacea for the global crisis that threatens all
of humanity.
Apparently, awareness of the consequences of a possible catastrophe will
be the main motive for further rapprochement between East and West, the
development of the so-called inter-civilizational dialogue. That is why it is so
important for modern scientists to study individual historical phenomena through
the prism of their general historical - intercivilizational significance.
In this chapter, we will try to comprehend the main stages of the world
history of the 20th century, as well as to analyze the main, as it seems to us,
problems facing the world community in the outgoing century.
WORLD WARS OF THE XX CENTURY. CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES
PART I. WORLD HISTORICAL PROCESS AND THE 20TH CENTURY
WORLD WARS OF THE XX CENTURY. CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES
World War I
At the end of the XX century. Quite naturally, the attention of scientists to
the problem of assessing its place in the history of mankind has sharpened. This
attention is not idle, because the outgoing century was the most fruitful and at
the same time tragic for modern civilization as a whole, it awakened previously
unprecedented, almost limitless possibilities for the development of material
culture and at the same time put humanity on the brink of a global catastrophe.
At the end of the 20th century, researchers have a huge array of historical
sources, quite diverse methods and techniques for studying and analyzing them,
which allows them to move, as it were, to a new level, the level of historical
synthesis. It aims to reveal the general patterns of the historical process and the
possible interaction of existing civilizational options, without which the survival of
the formed global civilization is unthinkable.
The internationalization of the life of various peoples, the convergence of
civilizations on the basis of the achievements of science and technology, the
spread of education, as it were, destroyed the hitherto insurmountable
boundaries between civilizations. In any case, a large group of scientists from
Western Europe, the USA, and Canada defends the idea of the universality of the
historical process, the progressive movement of peoples, and the unity of human
civilization. The outgoing century gave confirmation to the supporters of such an
intercivilizational approach to assessing the historical process. Indeed, the
achievements of the third scientific and technological revolution in the post-
industrial era tied together various countries within the framework of economic
cooperation, brought to life global communication systems, contributed to the
transformation, leveling of the level and style of life of many countries and
peoples. At the same time, these man-made phenomena have put humanity on
the brink of global environmental and nuclear disasters, exacerbated the problem
of demography and resources, etc., thanks to which the peoples felt their
interdependence, the inability to cope with global problems alone.At the same
time, it is obvious that with all the internationalization of life, significant
differences remain within the framework of the largest civilizations - Western
, European and Eastern. In this regard, the point of view of A. Toynbee (1889-
1975), who sharply criticized the intercivilization concept, is not without interest:
narrowing the historical outlook ... "
According to this prominent scholar of the 20th century, Western
historians, firstly, exaggerate the significance of such phenomena as economic
and then political unification, ignoring the phenomenon of cultural life, which is
“not only deeper than the first two layers, but also more fundamental ...;
“secondly, the dogma of the “unity of civilization” forces the historian to ignore
the fact that the continuity of the history of two kindred civilizations differs from
the continuity of two successive chapters of the history of one civilization ..;
“Thirdly, they simply ignore stages or chapters in the history of other civilizations,
if they do not fit into their general concept, omitting them as “semi-barbarian” or
“decaying” or referring them to the East, which was actually excluded from the
history of civilization.
Nevertheless, it is obvious that East and West are interacting more and
more, assimilating the values of the opposite civilization, as evidenced by the
process of modernization of a number of Eastern countries and, at the same time,
the increasing penetration of the traditional spiritual values of the East into
Western culture. It can be stated with a certain degree of certainty that this
process is based on the accelerating internationalization of economic, political,
and cultural life. But still, it should be stated that neither Western nor Eastern
civilizations have yet developed a panacea for the global crisis that threatens all
of humanity.
Apparently, awareness of the consequences of a possible catastrophe will
be the main motive for further rapprochement between East and West, the
development of the so-called inter-civilizational dialogue. That is why it is so
important for modern scientists to study individual historical phenomena through
the prism of their general historical - intercivilizational significance.
In this chapter, we will try to comprehend the main stages of the world
history of the 20th century, as well as to analyze the main, as it seems to us,
problems facing the world community in the outgoing century.
WORLD WARS OF THE XX CENTURY. CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES
