What was the impact of the First World War on the socio-economic conditions of the world? Write five points.

Explanation

(i) A Total War: The First World War was totally different from the previous wars. The fighting involved the world’s leading industrial nations, who now harnessed the vast powers of modern industry to inflict the greatest possible destruction on their enemies.

(ii) Modem industrial war: This war was thus the first modem industrial war. It saw the use of machine guns, tanks, aircraft, submarines, liquid fire, chemical weapons, etc., on a massive scale. These were all increasingly products of modern large-scale industry.

(iii) Reduction In the workforce: Most of the killed and maimed were men of working age. These deaths and injuries reduced the able-bodied workforce in Europe. With fewer numbers within the family, household incomes declined after the war.

(iv) New social set-up: The war was responsible for reorganizing the whole society and economy. During the war, industries were restructured to produce war-related goods. So, there was a shortage of consumer goods. The entire societies were also reorganized for war, as men went to battle, women stepped in to undertake jobs that earlier only men were expected to do.

(v) Emergence of America as a Super World Power: The United States of America (USA) became a Super World Power after the war. American companies and the people had floated huge loans to the Allies during the war. As a result, her economic supremacy was established. Thus, the war transformed the US from being an international debtor to an international creditor.