The word democracy has its roots in the Greek term demokratia, the individual parts of which are demos (‘people’) and kratos (‘rule’) so one can establish that on a basic level, that a democratic political system aims to let the people rule rather than a dictator or a monarch. The idea of democracy in western modernity can be seen as progress although one can question the definition of democracy. If democracy means people rule than one must establish who the people are and what kind of participation they are allowed.
One must also consider that although democracy is the political choice for western modernity, without the alternatives and ideas put forward by others, we would not live in the society we do. Zygmunt Bauman (1995) suggests that ‘modernity which proudly promoted individualism and freedom also spawned nationalism, communism & fascism. All in equal measure were its legitimate children; all were equally at home in the family of modernity’. Baumans quote shows that although we can consider democracy in western modernity as progress, on the way to this achievement we have experienced politically repressive regimes even in the technologically and socially advanced twentieth century.
The political and economic stability we now take for granted in western modernity did not just occur with time.
The spread of modernity has brought far-reaching transformations of life at many levels. The increasing social complexity generated by industrialism has created complex new problems that traditional bureaucracies could not solve. Moreover, growing secularism undermined the belief systems that made traditional authoritarianism acceptable.
Although we now have a comprehensive system of communication between fellow westernized countries and is becoming increasingly involved in organisations such as the EU which bind us even closer with other countries, this did not happen without conflict. The twentieth century has been unquestionably the most war-ridden and destructive in human history. Thus, far more than 100 million human beings have being killed, an average of 3500 a day, most of which in the two world wars.
The Cold War was an antagonistic rivalry between the USA and the former Soviet Union that lasted from the 1940 until about 1990. Both sides spent massive sums every year on the development of armaments and on maintaining military personnel. There were many reasons for this rivalry but the Cold war is generally thought of as a struggle of ideologies and the USA saw the ‘containment of communism’ as very important to keeping the freedom of the people. The USA and the Soviet Union tried to outdo each other in how many weapons they had and how powerful they were and at certain points in history when nuclear war seemed probable such as the Cuban missile crisis of 1961. The advancement of weaponry can be seen as a characteristic of technological progress in western modernity, yet it may not be considered progressive in the sense that nuclear weaponry has the capacity to obliterate the world.
When one looks at economic progress in the modern world, one must take into account influential theorists such as Adam Smith. Adam Smith was a key figure in the Scottish enlightenment who took his strategy of enquiry from Newton and offered a scheme of the gradual evolution of society. The key ideas were of the division of labour driven by technical innovation that via the regulation of the invisible hand of the marketplace generated material and moral advance. More than a century later, Frederick Winslow Taylor, an American management consultant approached management in a way in which scientific management involved the detailed study of industrial processes in order to break them down into simple operations that could be precisely timed and organised. Frederick Taylor (1911) suggests ‘The principal object of management should be to secure maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with maximum prosperity for the employee’. Henry Ford recognised the link between the system of mass production and cultivation to the mass markets, building on Taylor’s principles to develop Fordism. Both Taylorism and Fordism have been very influential in achieving the economic progress that western modernity has achieved. However, they both have their limits and can only be applied to such industries as car manufacturing that produce standardised products for large markets.
Adam Smith, Frederick Taylor and Henry Ford can all take some of the credit for the capitalist society we now live in. In western modernity there is a spread of commerce and trade, expansion of markets, and a growth of consumerism. People in westernised countries are now considered to be the richest they have ever been. Modern medicine has brought better health, longer life, reduced infant mortality, and also, sad to say, a population explosion that is world threatening. The rise of cotton as a replacement for wool powered the industrial revolution, especially in England (Sansom, 1973) and brought washable and colourful clothing within the reach of even the poorest people, yet the demand for cotton also brought slavery and tyranny to plantations in the United States and other countries. The exploitation of other people in order for western modernity’s progression can be seen as the cost of progress and some what tarnishes the achievements of western modernity.
The mass production of cotton drove modern imperialism and destroyed handicraft enterprises, especially in India, with incalculable costs. Modern arms increased the security of some states but they also devastated many others through warfare, revolutions, terrorism and the ubiquitous threat of landmines and other weapons.
On the surface level the progress on western modernity is obvious. For the western civilisation, due to great thinkers, increased economic knowledge and dominant political power, western modernity has achieved progress in a technological sense. However, western modernity now seems to need progression not only in a technological way but in the way of political world affairs. Due to the progress that has been made in weaponry and communications (such as cellular phones and the Internet), instead of trying to dominate other countries, western modernity has realised that other countries that are not traditionally regarded as westernised are become more advanced and increasingly modern themselves. This means that they now require the positive aspects of modern society such as improved medication and entertainment but may want the most sinister technology such as weapons of mass destruction.
Western modernity must aim to continue technological progress and put devices in place to make sure that the technology that has been developed is used for the good of all.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
- Featherstone, Mike, (1991), Consumer Culture & Postmodernism London: Sage Publications pg 3.
- Featherstone, Mike. Lash, Scott. & Robertson, Roland, Global Modernities (1995), , Sage publications:London pg 148.
- Giddens, Anthony, Sociology (1997), Third edition, pg 357, Polity Press: Cambridge.
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Preston, P.W. (1996) Development Theory: An introduction. Oxford: Blackwell pg 48.
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Riggs, Fred W, Coping with modernity: Constitutional Implications taken from .
- Sansom, Sir George, 1973 (c1949). The Western World and Japan; A Study in the Interaction of European and Asiatic Cultures. NY: Vintage Books. Pg232
Featherstone, Mike, (1991), Consumer Culture & Postmodernism London: Sage Publications pg 3.
Giddens, Anthony, Sociology (1997), Third edition, pg 341, Polity Press: Cambridge.
Featherstone, Mike. Lash, Scott. & Robertson, Roland, Global Modernities (1995), pg 148, Sage publications:London.
Riggs, Fred W, Coping with modernity: Constitutional Implications taken from: http://webdata.soc.hawaii.edu/fredr/6-mstza.html.
Giddens, Anthony, Sociology (1997), Third edition, pg 357, Polity Press: Cambridge
Preston, P.W. (1996) Development Theory: An introduction. Oxford: Blackwell pg 48
Giddens, Anthony, Sociology (1997), Third edition, pg 309, Polity Press: Cambridge
The Principles of Scientific Management, (1911), Frederick W. Taylor
Sansom, Sir George, 1973 (c1949). The Western World and Japan; A Study in the Interaction of European and Asiatic Cultures. NY: Vintage Books. Pg232