Key Economic and Political Terms of the Early 20th Century

Posted on Jan 13, 2025 in Economy

Key Economic Terms

  • Inflation: A general rise in prices due to an increase in the amount of money in circulation and uncontrolled emissions, often seen in warring countries. This leads to the depreciation of money.
  • Gold Standard: An international monetary system in force until the 1930s. It provided that the currencies of all countries belonging to this system were exchangeable for a set amount of gold.
  • Recession: A period of economic decline in a country, during which the value of money decreases.
  • Fordism: Named after Henry Ford, who was the first to implement Taylorist principles of work in chain and mass production of automobiles.
  • Mass Production: Production methods imposed on U.S. industries, which, together with the development of electric and combustion engines, increased output.
  • Taylorism: Developed by F.W. Taylor, this was the first method of scientific management. It involves the division of the industrial production process, separating the tasks of creation and organization (performed by executives, managers, and engineers) from implementation tasks (performed by workers). In the implementation process, each worker mechanically performs the same operation, which is assigned a precise time.
  • Stock Market Crash: The collapse of the New York Stock Exchange in 1929, which had enormous economic consequences and triggered the economic crisis.
  • Stocks: Surplus of goods that could not be sold due to increased industrial production at a rate higher than demand.
  • Great Depression: A period of economic decline that began in the 1920s, abruptly ending economic growth with the fall of the New York Stock Exchange. This caused the collapse of investment and economic activity in the United States.
  • Black Thursday: The first sharp drop in stock prices, caused by the withdrawal of investments. This created panic among those who had bought shares on credit, leading them to try to get rid of them as soon as possible to avoid losing more money and to pay their debts. Over 13 million shares were suddenly put on sale with almost zero demand.
  • Economic Intervention: Action by governments aimed at affecting economic activity. It includes the regulation and control of markets and direct participation in economic activity.
  • New Deal: A state economic intervention program that implemented a series of measures to combat deflation, revive the economy, and create jobs.
  • Autarky: A policy of a country’s economic isolation from the economy of other countries.

Key Political Terms

  • Universal Suffrage: The right to vote for all members of society, without having to meet certain requirements such as income level. Both men and women can vote.
  • Democracy: A method of organizing groups of people where the ownership of power resides in all of its members, and decisions are made to respond to the collective will of the group.
  • Dictatorship: A form of government in which power is concentrated around a single individual (the dictator).
  • Totalitarianism: Ideologies, movements, and political regimes where freedom is severely restricted, and the state holds all power without divisions or restrictions.
  • Fascism: A form of political organization based on the rejection of the parliamentary system, hatred of communism, and extreme nationalism, which hailed the myth of the nation and race. It also defended the cult of violence and the mobilization of the masses, attracted to a charismatic leader.
  • Racism: A form of discrimination against people based on race, skin tone, or other physical characteristics, in order to reject them.
  • Anti-Semitism: A central doctrine of the Fascist movement, based on the superiority of the Aryan race, which believed it had the right to subjugate inferior races.
  • Fascist Laws: A set of different measures, including the creation of a court for political crimes and a new secret political police, the elimination of other political parties and labor unions, and the introduction of press censorship.
  • Duce: The name by which Benito Mussolini was also known.
  • Cooperatives: A social movement or doctrine that defines the cooperation of its members in economic and social ranks as a means for producers and consumers, organized in voluntary associations called cooperatives, to obtain greater benefits and satisfy their needs.
  • SA: A Nazi paramilitary organization distinguished by its uniform and the swastika symbol on its cuff.