Let's start with production. As you already know, the rapid development of industry in the last decades of the XIX century. accompanied by the emergence of new, technically more advanced and productive machines, vehicles, etc. This led to the enlargement of production.
Concentration of production and capital. Leaders old and new
In new industries (automotive, chemical, electrical, etc.), in a relatively short period of time, the path has passed from the first experiments in semi-handicraft workshops to the creation of powerful enterprises.
Let's give an example. In 1893 G. Ford tested his first car made in the workshop, which, according to him, "resembled a peasant cart." In 1903, the "Ford Automobile Society" was already founded, in 1906 the first three-story factory building was built. By the beginning of the First World War, Ford enterprises had turned into a kind of empire with branches in England, Australia and other countries. It produced 248 thousand cars a year.
The data in the table tells about the growth of G. Ford's automobile production.
The enlargement of enterprises, the concentration of industrial production took place not only as a result of the development of technologies. The point was also that in the conditions of rapid industrial growth, competition intensified. To strengthen their positions in a particular industry, enterprises united in cartels, syndicates, trusts. The degree of interaction between the participants in these associations varied. In cartels, for example, enterprises agreed on the volume of production, sales markets, prices for homogeneous products, but retained financial and production independence. And in trusts, they completely passed under a single management, became shareholders of one company. The purpose of these associations was to take a monopoly (autocratic, dominant) position in their industry. Hence their common name - monopolies.
The United States of America became the recognized "country of trusts". In 1900, monopoly associations, numerically accounting for 8% of all enterprises in this country, produced 59.9% of industrial output, and by 1913 this figure had increased to 80%. The largest of the monopolies often extended their power to several industries at once in order to control both the production and delivery of a particular product. So, the oil trust of the Rockefeller family "Standard Oil" by the beginning of the XX century. controlled 90% of all oil production in the United States. In addition to oil fields, he owned 70 thousand km of oil pipelines, ocean steamships. Later, the trust included enterprises of the gas and electrical industries, plants for the production of non-ferrous metals, etc.
Similar phenomena took place in other countries. In Germany, two large companies - Siemens-Halske and the General Electricity Company (AEG) - produced about 2/3 of the products of the electrical industry, shipbuilding was also dominated by two companies - North German Lloyd and Hamburg-America. In the automotive industry in France, the tone was set by two powerful firms - Renault and Peugeot. Along with the concentration of production, there was a concentration of capital. In 1909, nine Berlin banks controlled 83% of the country's total financial capital, while 12 banks in Great Britain controlled 70% of all banking capital.
The struggle between the industrial and financial monopolies was not only for internal but also for external markets. The first places in terms of investments outside their countries at the beginning of the century were occupied by Great Britain and France. The British bourgeoisie preferred to invest in the colonies, where it was possible to obtain large profits from cheap raw materials and the merciless exploitation of labor. French capital was more often exported abroad in the form of loans at high interest rates. France was not without reason called "the usurer of Europe." By the beginning of the First World War, Russia, Great Britain, Spain and other states were among the debtors of French banks.
At the beginning of the XX century. the unevenness of the rates of development in the group of the leading countries of the world became especially noticeable. The United States and Germany, which later embarked on the path of industrialization, caught up in many economic indicators with the traditional leaders - Great Britain and France. The United States has moved up to the first place in the world in steelmaking, coal and oil production, electricity production and copper smelting. Germany overtook the UK in steel and iron production.
Fight for "a place in the sun"
The growing economic power and interests of the monopolies pushed new leaders to join the struggle for sources of raw materials and sales markets, for areas of profitable capital investment. The United States, being late for the colonial division of the world, began to persistently seek and expand the zones of its economic and political influence in different regions, primarily in Latin America.
At the end of the XIX century. Cuba, which was under Spanish rule, attracted special attention of the North American capital. The US monopolies almost completely controlled the sugar production, tobacco industry, mines and railways in Cuba. In April 1898, the United States demanded that Spain grant Cuba independence. Spain refused. The Spanish-American War began. The clear superiority of the American fleet led to its early completion. Already in December 1898, a peace treaty was signed, according to which Spain renounced rights to Cuba, Puerto Rico and other islands in the West Indies, as well as from possessions in the Pacific Ocean - the islands of Guam and the Philippine Islands (before that, the United States captured more and Hawaii).
Liberated from colonial dependence, Cuba actually ended up under US control. In the Philippines, whose population has fought for independence for several years, US troops have carried out ruthless "pacification" actions. In the Hawaiian Islands, in Pearl Harbor, a large US military base was deployed. China also became the object of US interests, where it was proposed to pursue an "open door" policy (that is, free activity of all foreign companies). At the beginning of the XX century. The United States has taken new steps to expand its influence in the world. They contributed to the proclamation of the independence of Panama (previously one of the provinces of Colombia). Immediately after this, an agreement was signed that provided the United States with exclusive rights to the Isthmus of Panama, where it was planned to build a canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Plans to expand the "living space", foreign expansion have been actively developed since the end of the XIX century. in Germany. The well-known politician B. von Bülow (in 1900-1909 - Chancellor of Germany), speaking in the Reichstag in 1897, said: “The times when a German ceded land to one neighbor and the sea to another, leaving only the sky for himself ... - these times are over ... We demand a place under the sun for ourselves. " The plans were in line with the deeds. In 1897, a German naval assault force landed in the Chinese province of Shandong, and the following year a treaty was signed that turned the province into a German sphere of influence.
In 1899, Germany acquired the Caroline and Mariana Islands (except for Guam) from Spain, which was defeated in the war against the United States. The economic penetration of Germany into the Ottoman Empire and other countries of the Middle East began (concessions for the construction of railways were of particular importance). Africa was also not ignored, where Germany carried out the first colonial conquests back in the 1880s. In the first decades of the XX century. German diplomacy fought for the opportunity to participate in the colonial exploitation of Morocco, against the establishment of French domination in this country, but, despite the two Moroccan crises provoked by it, was forced to retreat.
Social movements
The rapid industrial development of the countries of Europe and North America in the late 19th - early 20th centuries, the growth of cities, an increase in the share of workers and employees in the total population were accompanied by the expansion and intensification of social movements. The goals of these movements were to defend the vital interests of various sectors and groups of society.
The workers' movement became more and more massive and organized. In the 90s of the XIX century. in most countries of Western Europe and the United States, the previously scattered trade union organizations have been consolidated into national federations. This contributed to a noticeable increase in the number of trade unions. Thus, in the United States, the number of members of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) from 1886 to 1900 increased from 138 thousand to 868 thousand people, and in 1914 it had already reached 2 million, which was about 10% of all American workers.
The traditional tasks of the trade union movement have been to fight to improve working conditions and the material well-being of workers. At the beginning of the XX century. for workers in most countries, the requirements for higher wages and the establishment of an 8-hour working day were relevant.
The numbers show that there was something to fight for. For example, in the United States in 1914, the average working week was 54 hours. During the year, there were about 2 million industrial accidents, every 16 minutes a worker died at the machine. Although nominal wages increased by more than 30% over the year, prices during this time increased by 32%, and taxes per capita increased 3.5 times. In other countries, the situation was no better. So, in Germany at the end of the XIX century. It was considered an achievement that the government introduced a compulsory Sunday rest for workers, the working day for women was limited to 11 hours a day, and the work of children under 13 was prohibited in factories.
A characteristic feature of the labor movement during this period was the spread of anarcho-syndicalist ideas (“syndicate” is the French name for the trade union). Their followers rejected all forms of political domination (including the state) and political struggle. The main organization of the working class, in their view, should be the trade union, the main form of workers' struggle - "direct action", that is, strikes, boycotts, sabotage and the highest manifestation of struggle - the general economic strike.
Figures and facts
Strike movement in European countries in 1900-1913
France. The number of participants in strikes: 1902 - over 200 thousand, 1904 - about 300 thousand, 1906 - 438 thousand people.
Great Britain. The number of participants in strikes: 1905 - 93 thousand, 1906 - 217 thousand people. In 1912, a strike of miners was held, demanding that a minimum be officially established, below which wages could not fall. In the midst of the strike, 1 million miners and another 1 million workers in related enterprises quit their jobs. The government was forced to adopt a compromise law "on regional minimum" wages.
Italy. For 1904-1907. there was a general upsurge in the strike struggle. In 1906, a united trade union center, the General Confederation of Labor, was created. In 1907, 576,000 people went on strike.
During the strike movement, the workers did not confine themselves to demands for higher wages and better working conditions. In their speeches, political slogans were also heard more and more often. This was due to the influence of socialist parties, representing the political interests of working people.
In the socialist movement of many countries in the late XIX - early XX century. the unification of previously scattered parties and organizations took place. In France, for example, it was necessary to overcome the strong fragmentation of the movement, in which the followers of J. Guesde, J. Jaures and some other leaders represented special trends. In 1905, the United Socialist Party was created. In Great Britain, in 1900, a Workers' Representation Committee emerged, the founders of which were trade unions (trade unions) and individual socialist parties. In 1906, the Labor Party was formed on the basis of the committee.
The unification of the socialist parties contributed to the strengthening of their positions. Representatives of the socialists more and more often entered the parliaments of their countries. Moreover, they had the opportunity to participate in the work of government bodies. One of the first cases of this kind was the entry in 1899 of the socialist A. Millerand into the French government as Minister of Trade and Industry. The Millerand case received wide publicity, and the question of whether or not to join the bourgeois government caused heated debate (including at the Congress of the Second International in Paris in 1900) and even a split among the French socialists.
In relation to this event, fundamental disagreements on the strategy and tactics of the struggle, the choice of a reformist or revolutionary way of achieving the set goals, which existed in the socialist movement, were reflected. Some of its representatives, for example E. Bernstein, saw the possibility of a gradual "growth of capitalism into socialism" through reforms and the expansion of the social gains of the working people. Others - A. Bebel, K. Liebknecht, R. Luxemburg - advocated the socialist revolution, the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat and rejected any "compromise with the bourgeoisie." Still others - K. Kautsky, R. Hilferding and others - took an intermediate, centrist position. Disputes between supporters of these movements did not subside until the beginning of the First World War. The events of the first decades of the XX century. increasingly translated the existing differences from the field of theoretical discussions into the field of political practice and concrete actions, on which the fate of thousands of people depended.
Along with the industrial workers, other groups of workers also fought for their interests. In the United States since the end of the XIX century. the movement of farmers has increased. Uniting in "farmer alliances" (unions), they organized the storage and sale of their products, opposed the monopoly prices for transportation, set by railway corporations, against land speculators. In Italy at the end of the XIX - beginning of the XX century. the movement of land-poor peasants and laborers in the south of the country - in Sicily and other regions - reached a large scale.
Italian peasants refused to pay taxes, attacked municipalities (local authorities), landowners' estates. In the course of the struggle, peasant organizations - leagues - were created. In 1901, the National Federation of Working Peasants was formed. The actions of the peasants were ruthlessly suppressed by the police and government troops. In 1904, demonstrations of farm laborers were shot on the islands of Sardinia and Sicily, which triggered a protest strike by the Italian workers.
France in 1907 was shocked by the performance of peasant winemakers. Finding themselves in a dire economic situation, they demanded help from the government, refused to pay taxes.
The peasants united in the General Confederation of Winemakers, held several major demonstrations. During the suppression of the unrest, one of the regiments sent by the government refused to shoot at the peasants. Only large military forces were able to restore order.
During this period, speeches of civil servants became more frequent in France: teachers, postal workers, telegraph workers, railways. They sought to raise their extremely low salaries. In response, the government passed legislation prohibiting government employees from organizing trade unions and holding strikes.
At the end of the XIX - beginning of the XX century. the feminist movement has intensified. Its members opposed all kinds of restrictions on women. So, before the First World War, universal suffrage (which also extended to women) existed only in Norway, Australia, and New Zealand. In France, for example, in the late XIX - early XX century. Three groups of the population did not have voting rights - women, military men and residents of colonies.
In production, women received 1.5-2 times less wages for work equal to that of men. Women were not equal with men in family relations. Opportunities for them to get a higher education were limited, to become, for example, a doctor, a teacher at a university, a lawyer.
From the notes of Anna Martin, a member of the women's rights movement in England (1910):
“I get up at 4.45 am, clean up a bit and feed my husband breakfast. He must leave the house before 6 o'clock. Then I lift and wash the children, give each a slice of buttered bread and leftover tea, and leave the oatmeal and sugar for Harry to cook for the others later (Harry is 10). Then I make the bed and take the youngest child to Mrs. T. My work begins at 7 o'clock. At 8.30 a mug of tea is brought to us, and I eat the bread and butter I brought with me. I used to go home during lunch break, but now my legs are so bad that I buy a halfpenny cup of coffee at the store and eat the rest of what I brought from home. At 4.30 pm I have a cup of tea. At about 7 pm I am at home. I start a fire, feed my husband dinner and make the bed. Then I fix or mend something and usually go to bed at 11 pm. "
The intolerance of the existing situation was especially acutely realized as women were more and more involved in labor and social activities. Women workers have become more actively involved, along with men, in the struggle to improve their financial situation. Middle-class women have fought for decades to get women to vote. The activists of this movement - the so-called suffragettes - organized rallies, publicly attacked officials who, in their opinion, prevented women from giving the right to vote, smashed windows in their homes, etc. After being arrested for their actions, they went on hunger strikes in prison ... The feminists managed to achieve their goals after the First World War.
Reformism at the beginning of the 20th century
The growth of performances by workers and other groups of workers in most countries of Europe and North America, the events of the Russian revolution of 1905-1907. pushed those in power to make some concessions, transformations in social and political relations. In many European countries, the first decade of the XX century. became the time of reforms that were carried out by the liberal forces that came to power.
One of the clearest examples of social reformism is the activities of liberal governments in Great Britain (1906-1916). The ideologist of this course was the popular public figure and outstanding politician D. Lloyd George.
David Lloyd George (1863-1945) was born into the family of a poor teacher in Wales, lost his parents early. Unable to pay for education, he independently studied law and began working in a law office. Having gained a certain popularity, he achieved election to parliament, became a famous figure of the Liberal Party. In December 1905 he became a member of the liberal government. In 1916-1922. served as Prime Minister of Great Britain.
D. Lloyd George (left) and W. Churchill. 1908 g.
The left wing of the Liberal Party, to which he belonged, tried to act as an intermediary between entrepreneurs and workers. In 1906, a new law was passed on compensation for workers injured in industrial accidents; in 1908, an 8-hour working day was established for miners. Pensions were introduced for certain groups of workers upon reaching their 70s. The workers themselves called them "pensions for the dead," because it was difficult for people who worked hard to live up to these years. Later, a law appeared on social insurance of workers for sickness, disability and unemployment. In 1909, D. Lloyd George, as Secretary of the Treasury, proposed a new budget (distribution of revenues and expenditures) of the country, which he himself called "people's". It allocated about 10 million pounds for social expenses, it was planned to increase taxes from the wealthy segments of the population. However, in the same budget, almost four times more funds than for social needs were allocated to strengthening the navy. The "son of the people", as Lloyd George presented himself, served the empire and put its interests first.
In Italy in the first decade of the XX century. a course of "progressive liberalism" was carried out, the ideologue of which was Giovanni Giolitti (1842-1928). He believed that the revolutionary onslaught of the "popular classes" could be averted if progressive social laws were adopted. Liberal governments restored previously abolished political freedoms, the right to form trade unions, increased restrictions on the use of child and female labor in industry, and introduced compulsory 6-year schooling. Labor legislation was improved. At the same time, the liberals passed laws abolishing the right of railway workers and civil servants to strike.
Attempts to settle economic and social contradictions were made during this period in the United States. President Theodore Roosevelt (held this post from 1901-1909) launched a campaign against monopoly abuse. Laws were adopted in the field of protecting the country's natural resources, against the uncontrolled use of land and water resources. Special regulations introduced control over the quality of food and medicine in order to prevent abuse by manufacturing companies.
The transformations carried out in these countries concerned various social problems. The common thing was that they became possible thanks to many years of persistent struggle of many people. Reforms often turned out to be half-hearted, and the actual results did not always correspond to the promises. Yet they expanded workers' rights and democratic rights in general.
National relations and national issues
An important problem for many European countries at the beginning of the XX century. there were relations between the peoples who inhabited them. This primarily concerned multinational empires that had developed over the centuries and were based on the subordination of the dominant nation to other, as it was sometimes said, "small" peoples. But there are no small nations, each of them is significant in that it is unique and wants to live on its own land in accordance with its historical experience, values and aspirations.
The 19th century was the century of the awakening of the national consciousness of the peoples that were part of the empire. This applied to both dominant and subordinate nations. In many European countries, these processes are called "national revival". They found a vivid expression in the development of national languages, literature and history, artistic culture. The rise of spiritual life was accompanied by a noticeable advance in socio-economic development. In the European revolutions of 1848-1849. the national question sounded clear and strong, there were heroes and their victims.
The ideas of civil rights and freedoms, social justice, which were disseminated and defended in the 19th century. various social movements, could not but affect national relations. The national question began to be increasingly discussed in parliaments and political parties. However, the desire to substantiate and protect the rights of the people was often based on the idea of their national exclusivity, superiority over others. This position led to extreme nationalism. History of the XX century. showed that it can manifest itself both among the "great" and "small" nations. Strengthening of nationalist sentiments at the beginning of the XX century. began to give rise to acute and protracted conflicts.
Consider several situations that reflected the complexity of national relations in Europe at that time.
The largest multinational state in Central Europe was Austria-Hungary.
In the Austrian part of the state at the end of the XIX - beginning of the XX century. especially aggravated "Czech question"... The Czech Republic was one of the most economically and socially developed parts of the empire. The natural striving of the Czech bourgeoisie to secure itself a strong position in the economic and political life of the country was complemented by a broad social movement of Czechs for national equality. Unlike Hungary, Czech lands in the 19th century. failed to achieve recognition of their independence within the empire. As a result, many Czech bourgeois politicians (the so-called "young Czechs") went over to opposition to the Viennese government. And since in the imperial parliament - the Reichsrat - Austro-German deputies constituted a minority (43% of the vote), the opposition forces had the opportunity to practically paralyze its work.
At the end of the XIX - beginning of the XX century. a stumbling block in German-Czech relations was the issue of bilingualism. An attempt by the Austrian government to introduce in 1897 in the Czech lands, where before that the official language was German (it was used in government institutions, the army, etc.), the second official language was Czech, provoked a violent reaction. Nationalist German organizations in Austria and in the Czech Republic itself (here the Germans living in the Sudetenland bordering Germany were especially active) opposed this decision. Demonstrations of supporters and opponents of bilingualism were held in many cities. In parliament, there were clashes between the deputies, so the police had to intervene. Prime Minister K. Badeni, who signed the decision on the introduction of bilingualism, was summoned to a duel by a German nationalist and wounded in the arm. As a result of these events, the government resigned and parliament was dissolved. But the "Czech question" remained.
The situation was different in the Polish lands of the empire. Galicia, part of whose population were Poles, had its own diet, and the Polish language was recognized here as the official language. The aristocrats and the gentry supported the central government and held high positions in the imperial government. The Polish population of Galicia had more favorable conditions for national development than the Poles living in Germany and Russia. At the same time, the Ukrainian population of Galicia found itself under double oppression - from the Austrian authorities and Polish landowners.
Hungary, which in 1867 achieved the status of an independent part of a "two-fold" state, had its own national problems. On the one hand, the Hungarian Sejm (parliament) advocated the expansion of Hungary's independence, the introduction of an independent army, the establishment of a Hungarian national bank, a customs separation from Austria, etc. On the other hand, the unequal, oppressed position of the non-Hungarian population - Slovaks, Romanians, Rusyns, Croats, Slovenes and others. It was especially complicated in connection with the proclamation of "a single Hungarian political nation."
In school education, the thesis was used: "Only Hungarians live in Hungary." The authorities sought to reduce the number of non-Hungarian national schools and cultural and educational institutions. In 1907, Hungarian was introduced as the language of instruction in most "folk schools" (this was done even earlier in secondary schools). As a result, the schools of Slovaks and Transcarpathian Ukrainians were gradually "Magyarized".
National inequality, the policy of Magyarization caused different attitudes among people of non-Hungarian nationalities. Some preferred to adapt to the existing situation, while others decided to fight against it. A particularly acute situation developed in Croatia, whose population was increasingly opposed to the subordination of Hungary. At the beginning of the century, Croatia was constantly in a "state of emergency". In 1912, in response to the rise of the liberation movement, the Hungarian government dissolved the Croatian Sejm and suspended the constitution in Croatia.
National contradictions that permeated the Austro-Hungarian state from top to bottom, often overshadowed other problems. Even the Social Democratic Party of Austria at the end of the 19th century. split into six national parties: Austrian, Czech, Polish, Ukrainian, South Slavic and Italian. In the Czech lands, there were frequent cases when two trade union organizations, a Czech and a German, operated at the same enterprise. National problems, which were difficult to settle in peacetime, could prove to be a serious threat to the integrity of the empire at the slightest upheaval.
During this period, not only multinational empires became the arena of national confrontation. In Great Britain at the beginning of the XX century. the Irish question made itself felt with renewed urgency.
The stumbling block here was the requirement for Home Rule (self-government) in Ireland. The attitude towards him was different, often mutually exclusive. The Irish Parliamentary Party was in favor of achieving self-government through legislation. A different position was taken by the Sinn Fein party (translated as “We ourselves”), founded in 1905 by a group of Irish politicians led by A. Griffith. She called for non-violent resistance to the oppressors, including the withdrawal of Irish parliamentarians from the House of Commons and the convening of a people's assembly, a boycott of British goods, etc. The Irish Socialist Party was in favor of the independence of Ireland. The most decisive positions were taken by the revived Irish Republican Brotherhood, which sought to liberate Ireland by armed means, which was revived during these years.
The granting of self-government to Ireland was opposed by the English Conservatives and part of the Protestant population in Ireland itself. These were mainly large landowners and entrepreneurs, descendants of the Anglo-Scottish conquerors of Ireland. They proposed to keep in the British kingdom, if not all of Ireland, then its northeastern part - Ulster. Supporters of this position were called unionists (from the word union - union). In 1912, the liberal government tried to get the Home Rule law through parliament. The Irish Unionists declared that they would not obey this law and assembled a well-armed volunteer corps. Government officers refused to carry out the order to go to Ulster to suppress the Unionist rebellion (1914). On the other hand, the Home Rule forces also created their own armed units. Faced with the threat of civil war in Ireland, the government pulled back from enactment of the Home Rule Act. The Irish question remained open.
References:
Aleksashkina L. N. / General history. XX - early XXI century.