Buldakov  V.P.

At the Origins of the First Workd War: Mutiny in the Europenian Mind

Authors

Buldakov V.P.

Keywords:

Europe, World War I, Russia, cultural conflicts, mass consciousness, patriotism, nationalism, socialism

Abstract

Analyzing the causes of the outbreak of the First World War, historians are ready to admit that «Europe has gone crazy», but they do not find the reasons for this phenomenon. The notion still prevails that "rational minded" politicians could have prevented a European conflict. The author shows that the origins of the war were deeper. It was preceded by an increase in extreme emotional tension in all strata of European society, due to the demographic boom, the rejuvenation of the population, the information revolution and other factors not noticed by researchers. Under these conditions, the ideas of imperialism and internationalism, militarism and pacifism, nationalism and socialism clashed. As a result, the com-municative mind was suppressed by a kind of communicative instinct, which made possible the outbreak of European war.

At the Origins of the First Workd War: Mutiny in the Europenian Mind