Europa XX–XXI wieku. Społeczno-polityczne konsekwencje kryzysów
Europe of 20th and 21st Centuries. Social and Political Consequences of Criseses

Author(s): Marcela Gruszczyk, Lech Krzyżanowski, Miłosz Skrzypek
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Social Sciences, Governance, Public Administration, Public Law, Sociology, Sociology of Politics
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: Crisese; economic; globalism; history; conflict; war; economy
Summary/Abstract: The industrial revolution of the 19th century gave impetus to changes on unprecedented scale, which resulted in profound social transformations, namely: the increase of citizens’ political consciousness and – of no lesser importance – countrywide uprisings, triggerd by the nationalist ideology. The end of the century was also full of events announcing the forthcoming armed conflict which – in its aftermath – spurred a total redefinition of the political order in Europe as it had been hitherto known. What clearly illustrates the size of the conflict are the multi-million-dollar human and material losses, the degradation and decline of the European agricultural production as well as equally significant decrease in the area of foreign investment, and finally, disturbances in trade relations, implied – first and foremost – by huge debts and by the scale of war reparations. No less important here is also the Bolshevisation of Russia with all the negative consequences of this process.The first half of the 20th century brought the largest economic crisis ever. It had a tremendous impact on the development of economic thought, casuing an indubitable change in its mainstream. Both politicians and economists are unequivocally convinced that the huge scale of economic fluctuations in the free market economy model almost completely precludes the efficient use of resources on a macroeconomic scale. Thus, the existing economic liberalism was replaced by the state interventionism and, consequently, the departure from the gold standard. By the same token, the Great Depression should be classified as one of the most important events of the 20th century. One can safely agree with the thesis that the Great Crisis made the outbreak of World War II possible, although it did not render the war inevitable. It also undoubtedly undermined the belief in the effective functioning of either the market or the capitalist system, which could partly explain why the ineffective and at the same time criminal communist regime was sanctioned. Referring to Paul Johnson’s words, it can be said that the crisis was exerting an emotional and intellectual impact on human consciousness almost until the end of the 1980s, when Soviet collectivism finally collapsed and the whole world had to admit that the free market could not be replaced by any other economical system.The hecatomb, i.e. the aforementioned World War II, had consequences hitherto unheard-of in the history of civilization, which touched upon political, social, economic, and cultural issues. They were, above all, the unimaginable demographic losses; what is more, the enormous costs and, subsequently, the impossible to estimate value of damages. No less important here is the new order, formed after the war ended, which divided Europe with an “iron curtain.” After the military actions have been seized, the so-called West, continued to develop in a diverse manner, but also acclaming the fact that political and economic processes maintain their continuity, steerability, and rationality. Despite perturbations, the process took its course within a determined framework and according to predictable institutional and legal structures. These questions looked completely different on the eastern side of the aforesaid “curtain.” The two hostile political camps also differed regarding their economic systems; fortunately, it was for the so-called Eastern Bloc that the consequences of the difference turned out to be disastrous. What also falls into the category of issues discussed in the present work is an energy crisis in the seventies of the 20th century, connected with the political conflict between the West and the Arab states. It resulted in a recession and a slowdown in economic growth with all the negative consequences. On the other hand, by the end of the 1980s, it was connected with the breakup of the communist system in Europe. Although it is difficult to underestimate the positive aspect of this phenomenon, the collapse of communism caused many local conflicts in the countries that constituted the former USSR. The simultaneous collapse of the regime in the former Yugoslavia strengthened separatist tendencies, resulting in long, bloody struggles on its territory. The outbreak of extreme nationalism became the driving force behind a civil war, leading to a wave of national and religious persecution as well as an ethnic purge, heitherto inconceivable after World War II.The 21st century is inherently associated with in the phenomenon of globalization,which has its positive and negative dimensions, whose assessment – for the time being – eludes the criteria of historical analysis, though it finds its multifaceted expression in inquiries of other sciences.It should be emphasized that the succinctness of the above approach is intended solely to summarize the scale and variety of the events and processes discussed, which is directly related to the common denominator indicated in the introduction. The analysis of texts published in this volume should lead the Reader to the fullest possible comprehension of the eponymous issue. The research conducted in this field shows clearly the huge diversity and variety of phenomena, commonly referred to as the crisis. Unfortunately, despite its enormous efforts to investigate the causes, courses, and consequences of political, financial, and economic crises, science has not yet succeded in finding a remedy for their emergence; nevertheless, as yet unweavering in these efforts, perhaps it will contribute to alleviating the enormous costs of overcoming them. Editors

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