Social reform and social revolution

1914 to Present

1. Social reform and social revolution
   1. Four basic tracks of 20th century changes
      1. Western Europe, United States, Canada – the West
         1. Stable democratization
         2. Economic prosperity
         3. Thorough urbanization
         4. Commitment to social equality
         5. Creation of social welfare systems
         6. Scientific/technological achievements tremendous
         7. Postindustrial economies that emphasize services, consumerism, cutting-edge technology
      2. The Tigers – prosperous nations in Asia – Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore
         1. Economic and technical modernization
         2. Urbanized greatly
         3. High degree/variety of social services
         4. Economies post-industrial and high-tech
         5. Japan equaled or surpassed the West
         6. Nominally democratic
         7. Slow to embrace/tolerate diversity and individualism
      3. Soviet Union and Eastern Europe
         1. Modernized economically, especially post WWII
         2. Urbanized and developed social welfare services
         3. Technological and scientific advancement
         4. Remained industrial – didn’t move to postindustrial
         5. Technological finesse – computers – cruder than West
         6. Political systems dictatorial and repressive
         7. After communism, difficult to move toward democracy/economic propser
      4. Developing nations – Asia, Africa, Middle East, Latin America
         1. Trying to attain advanced economic systems
         2. Considering representative government
         3. Some have made great progress
         4. Others mired in backwardness, poverty, civil war, dictatorship
         5. Most between two extremes
         6. People’s Republic of China the anomaly
            1. Geography, population, military capacity of major power
            2. Strong economy – growing fast
            3. Government authoritarian, social and economic progress uneven
            4. i
            5. Technological and scientific achievement inconsistent
   2. Changing gender roles
      1. Men
         1. As women take new workplace roles, men now judged for parenting
         2. “Mr. Mom” pheonomenon – stay at home dad unprecedented
      2. Women
         1. Rise of feminism (women’s liberation)
            1. 1960s and 1970s women’s liberation and equal rights
            2. More than just legal equality and right to vote
            3. Full cultural and economic equality
            4. Create more positive climate for equal gender relations
         2. Suffrage
            1. End of 19th century, beginning of 20th century
            2. Large #s given right to vote after WWI
               1. Large numbers of women move into workplace
            3. Greater # of women work during WWII
               1. Women serve in armed forces
         3. Reliable contraception
            1. Unprecedented control of pregnancy
         4. Non-Western world – progress of woman uneven
         5. Most important change of 20th century – affects ½ world population
            1. Progress mostly in Western world
         6. History of feminism
            1. American and European suffragettes date back to 1800s
               1. But…only Finland, Norway, some US states had suffrage before WWI
               2. Also fighting for access to colleges and universities
            2. WWI and Interwar Period
               1. Large # of middle class women to the workplace
                  1. Lower class women had worked their since Industrialization
                  2. Gave credibility of equal rights
               2. After WWI suffrage in
                  1. Russia, Sweden, Britain, Germany, Poland
                  2. Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia, US
                     1. Italy and France holding out till after WWII
               3. Women gain tons of social freedoms in the West
                  1. Flappers test boundaries
                  2. Jazz Age – fashions and popular culture
                  3. New image of women free from traditional gender roles
                  4. i
                  5. Movies created world-famous sex symbols
            3. WWII and the effect on women
               1. Symbol of “Rosie the Riveter” exaggerated, but women went to work in great #s in US
               2. In Russia 40% of workforce women
               3. Permanently cemented place of women in working world
            4. 1940s and 1950s
               1. Women had greater role in workplace, but…
               2. Sphere of influence still homemaker, childbearer, caregiver
               3. Those who worked suffered from:
                  1. sexual harassment, unequal wages
                  2. No access to leadership roles
            5. Feminism and “Women’s Lib” 1960s and 1970s
               1. Women’s liberation
               2. Literature
                  1. Betty Friedan – The Feminine Mystique
                  2. Simone de Beauvoir’s - The Second Sex
               3. Want to achieve equality
               4. Eliminate stereotypes about women as “weaker sex”
               5. Some of the issues they wanted
                  1. Better pay, access to leadership roles
                  2. Higher education, women’s athletics
                  3. Right to birth control/abortion
                  4. i
                  5. Right to divorce
                  6. Greater role in political life
            6. Contemporary gender issues
               1. Informal discrimination and sexual harassment
               2. “glass ceiling” – still lacking access to highest jobs
               3. Secondary/traditional roles in non-Western world
                  1. Traditional issues constrain women
                     1. Conservative Catholicism
                     2. Islamic fundamentalism
                     3. machismo
                     4. view of women as inferior/property
                  2. Taliban takes it to extreme
                     1. Punishes for talking in public w/ man
                     2. Massively restricts interaction
            7. Female heads of state possible
               1. India, Great Britain, Philippines
               2. Politics not all male, but…these examples rare
            8. Treatment of women depended on revolution
               1. Iran conservative revolution – reversed progress
                  1. Under Shah – Iranian women had made progress
                     1. Western-style rights/education
   3. Family structures
   4. Peasant Protest
   5. International Marxism
   6. Basic features of Western Societies
      1. Elimination of distinctions between social classes
      2. Aristocratic class replaced by white collar class through meritocracy
      3. Large, stable middle class
      4. Lower classes have access to minimum standard of living
      5. Urbanization > suburbanization
      6. Social welfare system – unemployment insurance, pension, health care
      7. Universal education
      8. Equal political rights for all adults – men and women
      9. Equal treatment of all citizens under the law
      10. Equal treatment for minorities
      11. Participation of NGOs, nongovernmental organizations, civil society
          1. Pressure government to set policy
          2. Pressure implementing of policy
          3. Provide social services to needy
   7. Standard of living disparity – West vs. Developing World
      1. “north-south split” – most of world’s advanced, postindustrial societies north
      2. Gap causes problems
         1. Diplomatic friction
         2. Interferes with smooth/equitable globalization
         3. perpetuates tremendous socioeconomic inequality
      3. Small number of people in developed nations have disproportionate power
         1. Possess majority of world’s wealth
         2. Use up bulk of world’s resources
         3. Eat massive share of world’s food
         4. Responsible for most of world’s energy consumption
         5. Responsible for most of world’s pollution