5.7: Conclusion

The growth of science, the pernicious development of pseudo-science, and the culture struggles that raged in European society all occurred simultaneously, lending to an overall sense of disruption and uncertainty as the twentieth century dawned. Lives were transformed for the better by consumerism and medical advances, but many Europeans still found the sheer velocity of change overwhelming and threatening. At least some of the virulence of the culture struggles of the era was due to this sense of fear and displacement, fears that spilled over to the growing rivalries between nations. In turn, the world itself provided the stage on which those rivalries played out as European nations set themselves the task of conquering and controlling vast new empires overseas.

Image Citations (Wikimedia Commons):

Queen Victoria - Public Domain

Pasteur - Public Domain

Darwin - Public Domain

Racial Hierarchy - Public Domain

Bon Marché - Creative Commons License

Force Feeding - Public Domain

Protocols of the Elders of Zion - Public Domain

---