From 1890 a competition began between countries like France, Germany and the USA after the development of modernisation.

This competion helped the creation of tension between the countries and it broke out with the I World War in 1914.

Generations lost faith in Capitalism and liberal democracy , science and industries. European countries like France, Germany and Great Britain lost power,while Usa and Russia were always more powerful.

During 1870's and 1880's an economic depression caused a lot of problems in the society: the State decided to face the depression with the Welfare State providing economic help to industries and poorer families.

In 1848 Karl Marx gave a new idea of society writing "The Communis Manifesto": the working class parties agreed these new theories refusing the Capitalism.

In 1906 Albert Einstein gave a new idea of space and time: he believed that space and time exist toghether with present ,which was not separated from past and future.So Euclidean and Newtonian theories.

In litterature there was the introduction of the "point of view": the reader got in charachter's mind and is able to understand his feelings so the "omniscent narrator" wasn't used anymore.

During this period were important figures in litterature J. Joyce, T.S. Eliot, V. Woolf and E. Pound.