Recreating Order Amidst Sweeping Social and Economic Changes

There was an increase in trade throughout the international borders and a rising need for goods by the consumers (Edwards, 463). These and other factors led to the famous industrial revolution. So many changes occurred during the 19th century that brought about changes in the world economy. These changes include the rise of Germany as the leader of the European industry. Germany had perfected the production of electrical goods and chemicals and was better than any other European county at it. This was a century filled with nationalism, democracy and massive developments in information and communications technology. Mass warfare was also experienced in this century, including the two world wars that happened. The standards of living were rising in the century and so was the levels of expectations.

The greatest changes that happened during this period was the abolishment of the slave trade and the second industrial revolution. This led to higher productivity levels and profits, increased urbanization and prosperity among nations. It was in this century that Charles Darwin published his work on the "origin of species" (Dickens, 243). He said that species originated from evolution and through natural selection. In medicine, the germ theory of diseases was discovered therefore discovery of the first vaccine which was against rabies. There was also the discovery of the planet Neptune and a way to use complex numbers. Discovery of electricity and the very first light bulb happened in this century. There were four major revolutions that influenced the world socially and economically.

To explain these concepts, these revolutions are important. The first revolution is the agrarian revolution. This revolution saw to it that the world's farming changed from subsistence farming to commercial farming. There was the growth of cash crops which were supposed to bring profits to the farmers. Social Darwinism is a concept by Herbert Spencer and it comes from the theory of evolution by Charles Darwin. This theory indicates that the human being went through a process of natural selection whereby the strongest species survived and is the one existing today. From the theory of evolution, Herbert argues that economic competition should not be governed by anyone. This is because competition among different independent people is healthy and is good for progress.

It advocated for the elite group of people and arose because of the industrial revolution. It came up as a result of the agrarian revolution that took place. There was a major shift in the agricultural sector and farmers shifted to cash crop farming. However, they still did not get financial gains due to the inflation at that time. Populism did not just advocate for one common thing but they advocated for a variety of things. Equality and fairness for all was the belief of the populists. Progressivism is a concept that was introduced after the major industrial revolutions. This concept was developed to deal with the problems in society. It became the supporting pillar of today's society influencing its political movements and policies.

This concept revolves around the politics mainly in the big cities and also the corruption that was rampant in those cities. Businessmen often viewed politics as a way to build themselves and their businesses up (Anderson, 428). Progressivism has laid a basis for most of the regulations used today in the United States. These theories differ in terms of many concepts. For instance, in terms of freedom, the social Darwinism theory indicated freedom for all. It requires everyone to be accorded equal resources and freedom so that the competition will ensure only the strongest survive. In as much as there is freedom in this theory, it is not politically guaranteed. Attacking a nation's political machine is a major threat to its security.

This concept meant well but it was also a great danger. In terms of responsibility, these three concepts had their own interpretation. For instance, Social Darwinism concept required everyone to be responsible for their own survival and life whereas populism and progressivism required that the government be responsible for its citizen's survival. These three concepts further differ in the definition of the role of government. Their main aim is competition and is usually in support of big businesses. Populism can be seen as the modern day democrats as they are the ones who advocate for equality and also advocate for the "small people" in America. Progressivism has been adopted in modern America. It formed a basis for American politics. Just like in progressivism concept, politics in America are no longer business but governance and instead of having big businessmen running the government and public affairs, they are run by the civil service.