Mongkut and the Modernization Wave of the 19th Century

A 19th century Thai King, despite lacking youth, embraced modernization and all in the name of his Kingdom's independence. But he did not act alone, across Asia and Africa, many countries, facing the same imperialist threat, undertook the painful decision. This wave of modernization, however, faced mixed results with some success and many failures.

Table of Contents

1. What Reforms did Mongkut Introduced?

2. Wave of Modernization

A. Imperial Playbook and Argument

B. The Counter Argument and Movement

3. Behind Successes and Failures

4. Summing Up

Joseph Stalin - The Price of Success

Everyone knows Hitler as the embodiment of evil with the Allies as the forces of good. But within the ranks of these "good" stood an achiever but also a butcher greater than the defeated German leader. Joseph Stalin propelled the Soviet Union into the position of superpower at a great expense of lives, even larger than that of Hitler. He made planning trending, but also did the same for gulags, slave labor, and famine.