From the French Revolution to the Cold War, modern Europe experienced a significant need to establish dominance in all areas of society. Domination can be defined as one group exercising power and control over another, which can occur through the use of physical force, political change, or indoctrination. Each of the eight authors discussed in this article demonstrates how those in power created a new sense of order, established a new cultural identity, and used education as a means to teach servility. The Enlightenment, industrial and agrarian revolutions and two devastating world wars influenced the way these powers perceived and expressed their authority. Researchers use a variety of sources to examine how this process occurs and, therefore, determine that the means of authority evolve over time. The current political and social upheavals have their roots in the struggle for dominance on the European and, later, the world stage. Researchers identify several catalysts for domination during this period. First, Enlightenment ideals threatened existing hierarchies by encouraging the right of the people to determine how they should be governed. Once they understood how to govern themselves so that the majority achieved greater political influence, people were then able to focus on external means of power. Second, the industrial and agrarian revolutions influenced social hierarchies and changed the bases of power. When the lower classes worked the land, they controlled the means of production and therefore had significant influence over the economy. After the failure of the agrarian revolution in the German states, the means of production went to the aristocracy, thus strengthening its domination over the peasantry. Industrial Britain experienced overcrowding in the city...... middle of paper......trying to function. The political and agrarian revolutions modified this hierarchy in France and Germany respectively. French revolutionaries demanded equal representation and took up arms to put citizens in a dominant position, challenging a hierarchy that was hundreds of years old. In the German Empire, serfdom kept the peasantry poor but in control of the means of production. After the Napoleonic Wars, German states passed laws to stimulate agricultural production needed to generate income and make reparations. These changes benefited neither the aristocracy nor the peasantry, but government aid to the rich forced the poor to give up their land or payments to ease the financial burden. It may not have changed the social order in Germany, but it solidified aristocratic control..