Western+World,+definitions


 * WESTERN WORLD- DEFINITION **


 * LIBERALISM**

Liberalism: (from the Latin //liberalis//, "of freedom") is the belief in the importance of [|liberty] and [|equality]. Socially speaking, it means the rights of the individual are above the State: the individual has freedom or religion, for example, or the right to vote. Politically, it means secularism, democracy. Economically, it shifts to a free market economics and capitalism.
 * INDUSTRIALIZATION**

Industrialization is the process through which the secondary and tertiary sectors in society, industries and services, prevail on the primary activities, agriculture and farming. It is the extensive organization of an economy for the purpose of manufacturing and implies mechanization and a factory system, the division of labor, the growth of the money economy, and the increased mobility of the labor force, both geographically and socially. A short term consequence is emphasis on primary and secondary sectors, but as industrialization continues, there is a shift to tertiary industry. Politically it implies competition among firms, free market, which promote progress. The majority of the people born during the years of the big population growth moved into the cities, producing the phenomenon of urbanization, which caused also an increasing of the pollution rate in all Europe.


 * IMPERIALISM**

An empire is a group of states under one ruler or a government. Imperialism is the phenomenon through which a state, conquering other nations- often overseas- and reducing them to the state of colonies, becomes an empire. Imperialism was deeply connected to the practice of colonialism. The reasons of colonization were, indeed, the exploit of natural resources –raw materials and labor force-, new markets and the creation of naval bases useful to European naval forces. During the 19th century, colonization and imperialism found their roots in racism. Nationalism is loyalty to a nation rather than to an individual leader. For a devout nationalist, the nation represents a higher truth, a sort of religion. Supported by the idea of racism, nationalism led to several independence wars during the second half of the 19th century and the creation of new nation-states; states with a profound bond between the government and people who are governed, which all belong to the same ethnic group (race), and thus share language, history and often also religious beliefs. Nonetheless, nationalism often led also to secularism, because the individual recognizes himself as part of a nation whose foundation are broader than religious beliefs.
 * NATIONALISM & NATION-STATE**
 * SUFFRAGE**

Suffrage is the right to vote. After World War I, many European states opted for universal suffrage, which is the right to vote for every citizen of a certain age (women included). Universal suffrage is part of the process of liberalism, and often conducted to the practice of welfare and social assistance: if the poorest citizens’ votes are worth as much as the richest’ ones, this practice is useful to made a political party earn more votes. Secularism is the belief that state should be separated from religion. Connected with the idea of liberalism, and sometimes nationalism, it leads to freedom of religion. Social mobility is the ability of families or individuals to move through social classes. Social mobility is connected with the ideas of nationalism, urbanization and liberalism, and revolutionized the way in which people saw life and themselves, pushing social classes to expand and increasing the literacy rate among population. Urbanization is the physical growth of [|urban areas] as a result of global change. Living in cities permits individuals and families to take advantage of the opportunities of proximity, diversity, and marketplace competition. In modern times, [|industrialization] of [|agriculture] has negatively affected the economy of small and middle-sized farms and strongly reduced the size of the rural labor market. Cities, in contrast, are known to be places where money, services and wealth are centralized. Cities are where fortunes are made and where social mobility is possible. As cities develop, effects can include a dramatic increase in costs, often pricing the local [|working class] out of the market.
 * SECULARISM**
 * SOCIAL MOBILITY**
 * URBANIZATION**

Converting raw materials into goods through the use of machines and mass production. (Ania J.)
 * INDUSTRIAL**