Tolerance and coercion: The political scenes of European modern design movement

The social origins of European modern design was not only associated with technological change but also had a strong relationship with other factors such as social system. With the assistance of the method characterised as historical sociology, this article makes a comparative analysis on the rise of European modern design. It tries to clarify how European political systems were diversely modernised and how they had the distinctive effects on the modern movements of different European countries. Particularly, the constitutional system and liberalism of Western Europe did not develop recognised pattern of modern design but contributed to the democratic idea of modernism through benign inactivity. The centralised bureaucratic system and nationalism of Central and Eastern Europe did directly stimulate the birth of modern design but then repressed its later development. In addition, this study illustrates why Germany became conspicuous in the diverse political situations during that period.