The Age of Uncertainty

In nineteenth century Europe, uncertainty spread like wild fire, causing distress and confusion among all of the social classes, hence the name, the "Age of Uncertainty." The Age of Uncertainty began with the formation of alliances throughout Europe. An alliance, by definition, is a partership created with the intent of achieving a common goal. Some common goals that Europe yearned to achieve were defense against common enemies, safety and security, and an increase in economic status, as well as an increase in trade. Achievement of common goals was most definitely a positive aspect of forming alliances. The major negative aspect of forming alliances would be the possibility of creating mass conflict amongst the various nations.

Germany, during this time, was ruled by Bismark, who was a big fan of forming alliances. Germany's allies were Italy, Russia and Austria. The decline of the Balkans, formerly the Ottoman Empire, was caysed by mass conflict on freedom of religion and property ownage. The various Slavic coubtries each insisted that they should own the most land, because of previous time periods when their country had been larger than the rest. Seeing as how every Balkan country had, at one point or another, been the largest amont the rest, there was no way to fairly distribute the land. Austria was the protectorate over Bosnia during this age, but this caused overwhelming frustration in Serbia. So, eventually, Austria annexed the land in order to prevent possible uprising conflict.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, there was more vast and immediate change - new science. In the past, science was viewed in a positive manner, because it could be tested and proven or disproven. New science, on the other hand, caused confusion all throughout Europe. For instance, Charles Darwin entered the picture, publicizing new views and perspectives of which no one had heard in the past. Darwin created the theory of natural selection; animals with the ability to adapt to their environment would thrive and survive, while animals who were unable to adapt would suffer and eventually die. Such concepts were the most controversial that the world had ever seen. They led to what was known as "Social Darwinism," which essentially provided justification for expansion and colonization.

Arthur de Gobineau spread great controversial thoughts as well. De Gobineau wrote an essay, "The Essay on Inequality of Races." The title is pretty self-explanitory with respect to the content of the actual essay. De Gobineau had a theory that focused on what was known as the "Aryan race." Most believe that the aryan race never existed and was a mere conspiracy. The aryan race was supposed to be the "perfect" race. This idea was later put into action by Adolf Hitler.

Friedrich Bietzsche believed that during the Industrial Revolution and forward, the proletariat had lost all human qualities and become more machine-like than anything. The factory workers followed the same routine, every day of their lives. Their reason to work wasn't pushed by a passion for what they were doing, and Nietzsche thought that passion was greater than reason, and reason without passion wasn't reason, enough. He also believed that those who were stronger shouldn't help the weak. This belief went entirely against Christianity, because God says for people to help those less fortunate. Such contradictory beliefs obviously caused conflict, but they were also inspiration to some, such as Franz Kafka, who wrote "The Metamorphosis," a book presenting a man who, every day of his life, followed the same routine and one day woke up and found himself to be a cockroach. "The Metamorphosis" is an extremely literal translation of Nietzsche's beliefs, and didn't become popular until well after Kafka dued. The bourgeoisie (factory owners) would, clearly, not want their workers reading such a book.

Lastly, Sigmund Freud - the father of psychoanalysis. Freud spread his thoughts on the Id, the Ego and the Superego, which caused mass questioning and confusion. The Id is the unconscious, consisted of one's feelings. The Ego is the conscious, also known as our filter. And, the Superego is also unconscious, but more about society's influence on us. Such thoughts, which were eventually proven, confused many people throughout both America and Europe.

Change is good, but most people fear it. In such a short period of time, all of this immediate change struck fear, uncertainty, etc. in a mass amount of people. Every idea created controversy and went against tradition. Everyone was thoroughly anxious of what their future held for them. The anxiousness was the very opposite of the intent of the Age of Uncertainty, because this age was meant to show improvement. Many changes were positive, while others inspired future leaders in vastly negative ways.