My point was that the trends that began in the 19th century, of urbanization, industrialization, and mass immigration, did not come to full strength until the 20th century....
I do not think that fascism is the culmination of nationalism, I think it is a danger, and one that came to a head in the 20th century. I think that nationalism and imperialism were, on balance, good things...
Marxism is a good example of an idea that had little effect until the 20th century...
The imposition of colonial rule left little changed for most natives. It improved the position of some, and degraded the position of others, but the bulk of them continued to live as they had for centuries, with new persons at the top. It took decades of missionary work, educational outreach, and capital development to have a truly broad effect, and most of these effects came in the 20th century....
The globalization of such changes is a great deal of what I have in mind in singling out this century. It is possible that the 20th century will, in the long run, be viewed as transitional, but who knows? |
