What Is Modern World? Research Paper Example

The modern world was created through a transformation of societies around the world. It is a revolution period believed to have begun between the 16^th and 18^th centuries (Shillington, 2018). The changes in the modern world led to rising literacy rates, improvement in transportation, changes in politics, the spread of capitalism, easy accessibility of information, growth of states, enlightenment, and rationalism (Bitrus, 2017). Some of the main drivers of change included global exchange networks, increased use of energy, and competitive markets. The modern world is characterized by many changes and improvements like scientific discoveries, technological innovations, globalization, and urbanization.  The following is a discussion of the contemporary world and how it was created.

Modern World Definition

The modern world can be defined as a world with profound changes in economic, social, and political aspects.  For example, it is associated with democratic political systems, an economy with industrial sectors, and social systems consisting of more urban workers and professionals (Politics & History, 2020). There is also worldwide economic growth with increased education and living standards. People have basic literacy, and life expectancy levels are high.  There are also changes in family and work partnerships leading to a decrease in gender inequality. However, the weapons have grown lethal, with more atomic armaments used to kill millions during wars. Nevertheless, this world has increased interdependence, a growing cross-border trade, better movement of services and commodities, flow of capital, and rapid change in technologies (Americaslibrary.gov, n.d.). The modern world is full of discoveries and inventions, the creation of multinational companies, more liberal economic policies, and social movements.

In addition, the core economy is driven by engagement in innovation and capital-intensive production, requiring professional skills and specialization of labor. The core countries moving the modern world have various resources, strong military, and the ability to control the global economy—for example, the UK, US, Germany, Japan, and Singapore. Therefore, the modern world consists of characteristic features like urbanization, democracy, technological advancements, and industrialization. There were a lot of changes that happened after the 18^th century, which transformed the world to make it modern, equipped with the latest ideas and global movements in the society, different from the early decades.

How the Modern World was Created

Global Exchange Networks

The modern world came with the growth of global exchange networks, which became large and more dynamic.  In the early 20^th century, there were conflicts between the leading industrial powers in the world, creating wars. However, in the second half of this century, international trade relations helped create a large world market. It enabled more flow of goods, people, and money to move across the world. This led to the spread of industrialization, with improvements in technologies and communication, which accelerated the pace of trade (Shillington, 2018). There was a better internet connection that facilitated communication among millions of people worldwide and stored a lot of information. Finally, the structure of government decisions changed where governments made decisions requiring multinational effort—for example, findings on global warming.  Therefore, the emergence of the worldwide exchange networks made the world more modern by making things more accessible in the communication, trade, and transportation sector.

Competitive Markets/capitalism

The second driver of change that created the modern world is competitive markets, also referred to as capitalism.  The contemporary world is characterized by increased urbanization, where more people have moved into the cities. These people moved to look for employment opportunities brought in by new advanced technologies, better means of transportation, and the provision of electricity. Cities became the healthier places to dwell compared to villages. Even today, more people are concentrated in urban areas (Shillington, 2018). Therefore, the modern world has competitive markets that have fostered economic welfare. These markets produce goods and services hence satisfying the needs of many people.

Increasing use of energy

The increasing energy use also led to changes in the modern world with increased use of fossil fuels and more energy consumption due to large societies’ industrialization.  Therefore, the modern world can be defined as an era where people use more energy because of the growth in industrial activities and advancements in developed and developing countries. As a result, there is more food production with better technologies to create artificial fertilizers and pesticides and genetic modification of crops. Thus, in the contemporary world, there is still more demand for energy for household and production use.

Conclusion

The modern world can be described as a world characterized by many changes like rising literacy rates, improvement in transportation, changes in politics, the spread of capitalism, easy accessibility of information, growth of states, enlightenment, and rationalism.  The changes were mainly caused by global exchange networks, increased energy use, and competitive markets. Thus, this world is globalized, industrialized, networked, and urbanized. More people live in the urban areas, and governments collaborate to address issues affecting the world. Also, it has increased interdependence, a growing cross-border trade, better movement of services and commodities, flow of capital, and rapid change in technologies.

References

Americaslibrary.gov. Modern Era (1946 – present). Americaslibrary.gov. Retrieved 20 April 2022, from https://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/modern/jb_modern_subj.html.

Bitrus, I. (2017). Globalizing Impact of Modernity in Africa. Journal of Globalization Studies, 8(2), 1-16. Retrieved 20 April 2022, from https://www.sociostudies.org/upload/sociostudies.org/journal/jogs/2017_2/068-083.pdf.

Politics & History. (2020). Global economy. Modern World System [Video]. Retrieved 20 April 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFfjK6ykbEA.

Shillington, K. (2018). History of Africa (4th ed.). Red Globe Press.