Week 12 Journal Entry

Chapter 21 explores the origins of communism, and how it is perceived as a world view. China and Russia were among the first communist nations. It was interesting to know that Karl Marx predicted Western Europe to become communist because he believed communism required industrialization. China and Russia were not industrialized as Western Europe, but believed greater human equality could be accomplished with communism. Marx also advocated for more leisure time for humans to enjoy life, while being efficient at their work. Communism introduced new social classes like the working class and the entrepreneurial middle class. The Cold War was a war with no physical fighting between the two world superpowers and lasted for about 45 years. Both the United States and the Soviet Union supported different sides in proxy wars around the world, but never actually went to war with each other. The concept of "communist feminism" became popular during the Cold War, it was a movement that aimed for equal women's suffrage, right to divorce, right to own property, education for all, and gender equality among other things. 

Strayer's 22nd chapter looks at the era of "decolonization," or colonies' struggle for independence. Most African, Middle Eastern, Southern Asian, and Southeast Asian nations that gained independence from their colonizers are explored in this chapter (with the exception of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran, and Thailand). This chapter also compares different struggles for freedom and how they differed from one region to another, from one colonizer to another. South Africa's Apartheid and India's British rule are the two most deeply explained cases. Strayer also looks at the role of religion in independence in Iran and Turkey.