Essay TwoWestern Civilization

Before World War I, the world was dominated by imperialism. The rapid growth of
industrialization in Europe lead to the belief that much of the world was uncivilized. Those in
favor of this imperialistic movement believed that imperialism was a moral righta duty that
should be fulfilled; such is seen in Rudyard Kiplings poem, The White Mans Burden.
According to Kipling, people should Take up the White Mans burden . . . bind your sons to
exile to serve your captives needs. . . Mark them with your living and mark them with your
dead (Kipling, 1899). The poem generalizes that uncivilized nations with no kings, where
people are only capable of doing simple things and are heathens, which was the typical
assumption of western society during this period. Furthermore, Kipling encourages men to take
up the white mans burden; the burden being to go out and teach savages how to be civilized.
Similarly, Heinrich von Treitschke believed that imperialism was for the good of the
world. However, Treitschke urged the use of violence. According to Treitschke, The great
strides which civilization makes against barbarism and unreason are only made actual by the
sword . . . war is both justifiable and moral (Treitschke, 1898). Just as it is a moral right to be an
imperialist, it is a moral and divinely appointed order to use violence and force nations to
become civilized.
Treitschkes and Kiplings documents serve to emphasize how western civilization was
well under way before the beginning of the war and how on some level, the war will help
encourage others to trust in the idea of western civilization. Unfortunately, the war did the
opposite.

Before the war people adopted imperialism and put much of their faith in western
civilization. When war finally erupted, men were encouraged and willing to fight for what they
believed in, which was western civilization. In Erich Maria Remarques novel All Quiet on the
Western Front, soldiers recount the memories of why they volunteered, Kantorek. . . our
schoolmaster. . .gave us long lectures until the whole of our class went, under his shepherding, to
the District Commandant and volunteered. . . no one had the vaguest idea what we were in for.
(Remarque p.11) These young soldiers were urged to volunteer by not only their teacher but their
parents as well. Going in to the war, they believed that it was a right choice; they were fighting
for a cause. They held on to the idea of western civilization but then reality hit. The war was a
cruel time for these soldiers; it was not what they expected. The use of chemical and trench
warfare as well as the lack of food, sleep, and shelter caused serious physical and mental harm,
which affected the soldiers as well as the family members. we returned home in 1916, out of the
suffering and the strength of our experience . . . we will be weary, broken, burnt out, rootless, and
without hope. (Remarque p.296) The reality that people faced during the war caused the belief
in western civilization to falter but not completely die out.
The toll the war affected many people and as a result, people were not the same. Life
became difficult for many but this fact did not cause people to give up hope completely. People
continued to hold on to the idea of Western civilization, but there was a significant change in
how people viewed this idea. For example, the artwork of Lovis Corinth in 1899 Salome and
of Wassily Kandinsky in 1903 The Blue Rider are two pieces of art that embodied beauty,
romanticism and are realistic paintings, however, this was before the war. After the war, Lovis
Corinth and Wassily Kandinsky painted art that is more abstract such as El Christo Rojo by
Corinth in 1922 and On White II by Kandinsky in 1923. The paintings after the war were

abstract and dreary; they were not as full of life as they were before the war (Clark, 2014).
Furthermore, Chaplins film Modern Times in 1936 gives an example of how life has changed
because of the war. In the film, Chaplins character and his love interest envision a life where
they have a nice home, and can actually support themselves when in reality, they do not have a
home, they are starving and do not have jobs. The state of Chaplins character depicts what
soldiers are to expect after the war. What they imagine for themselves is ideally how they should
already be living and how people used to live before the war erupted. However, in the film, the
characters still work towards that goal.
The mere fact that artist continued to paint and create art, and that the film Modern
Times was created is evidence of how people continued to live their lives after the war, but it
provides a look in to how people thought differently about civilization. Although faith in western
civilization may have changed, they did not give up on this idea. People still held on to Western
Civilization and life continued.

Work Cited
Kipling, Rudyard. "The White Man's Burden." 1899.
Modern Times. 1936.
Treitschke, Heinrich von. "Heinrich von Treitschke on War." 1897.