Social Political Economic 20th Century

The profound economic change that occurred in the early 1900’s was largely influenced and formed by the industrial revolution, in particular the second wave that occurred in the late 1800’s.
The revolution as a whole resulted in the change from economies based on agriculture and farming, to industry based profits. This second wave of the revolution not only refined and improved the prior inventions of iron and coal, but brought with it new highly developed technologies such as steel, electricity, oil and chemicals that lead to the creation of new industries that had not existed prior. The introduction of large scale steel and iron production, as well as advanced railway systems and the opening of the Suez Canal, allowed countries to export vast amounts of resources easily, therefore boosting economies. The introduction of electricity into society during this time also had a profound impact on the economic situation of many countries and individuals by allowing possible work hours to be increased dramatically. In 1914, Britain, Germany, France and the US owned 72% of the world’s manufacturing output, having a profound impact on the economies of the countries but also creating a climate of competition between the strong industrial powers. To a certain extent, this economic change throughout the world had a significant impact, and acted as a catalyst for increasing social and political change.

Political change was evident during the early 20th century given that dynastic rulers still governed solely over many of the imperial nations at the start of this period. But this was soon to change due to the growing discontent in both the middle and working class. During this time the middle class began growing discontent with the way that the upper class was running the country. They believed that they should have more political power, as they are the ones running the economy and yet they don’t have a say over anything, referring to the way their money is spent. The