How Did The Industrial Revolution A Form Of Modernity?

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As the 19th century was progressing in Europe, developments were happening that were changing life in Europe forever. While the Enlightment brought about new ideas and ways of thinking during the late 17th and 18th centuries, many of these ideas were brought to reality in the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution revolutionized the everyday life of individuals, while the uprising in 1848 and nationalism marked political and economic development. This process, the combination of economic development and self-development, is known as modernity. These developments tended to increase the quality of life of many Europeans, and while it seems as though all people of this period would have been in favor of these developments, that was not always …show more content…
In the 19th century, nationalism emerged as a result of the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. As Ernest Renan wrote in the open line of his article What is a Nation?, “A nation is soul, a spiritual principle. ” He later goes on to say that, “the nation is the culmination of a long past of endeavors, sacrifice, and devotion. ” People loved this development of nationalism, as it brought about a sense of unity. It brought about exhilaration and romanticism, and many celebrated this. As Ernest Renan says, there really is no one definition of what a nation is, as it changes throughout time. “A nation’s existence is a daily plebiscite,” Renan says. It can only existence is the people have a desire to continue building the …show more content…
While there was other motives for imperialism other nationalism, it was a cause. Nations had too much pride, and felt that it was their job to provide for regions in the world that didn’t have much. Jules Ferry said it straight to the point, as he said, “Superior races have a right because they have a duty. They have a duty to civilize the inferior races. ” This idea tuned much of Africa and Asia into a scramble to see which European nation could get control first. European imperialism did improve the standard of living in many of these regions, but their treatment of the people in these regions was brutal and unjust . While people like Jules Ferry and other people of high power in European nations supported imperialism, many were critical of it. George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant gives a fictional story that demonstrates the critique many had on imperialism. In the story, a British police officer is stationed in lower Burma, and hates his job, as he sees how badly his government treats the people of Burma. One day when a mad elephant gets loose, he has to face a troubling choice: to shoot the elephant (which is now acting tame) or let it be. Due to the pressure from the crowd, the officer shoots the elephant. Orwell says, “Here was I, the white man with the gun, standing in front of the unarmed native crowd – seemingly the leading actor of the piece; but in
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