Excerpt from Crises in European History: Translated From the Danish by Arnold Petersen Gustav Bang's work, "Crises in European History" ("Brydningstider i Europas Historie"), was first published serially in the Daily People during 1909-10. As an economic interpretation of three important crises in European history it is perhaps one of the best, considering the brevity of the work. Dr. Bang here employs to the best advantage the Marxian key, and succeeds in unravelling what to the average reader usually appear to be mysteries or near-mysteries. As the author explains in his introduction, the motive power of historical changes is to be found in the economic basis of a given society, in the methods of production and exchange peculiar to that society. To put it in this manner is, of course, to lay oneself open to the charge of teaching that that economic basis, and nothing else, influences the historical processes. Dr. Bang, however, in the concrete examples chosen furnishes ample evidence to show that while that undoubtedly is the chief, and in the long run the really important factor, the line cannot be drawn too sharply between cause and effect, seeing the effect frequently reacts upon the cause, stimulating it and aiding in accelerating (or retarding temporarily, as the case may be) the historical process. The publishers have felt that the work deserved a wider circle of readers than was possible through the Daily People, and for this reason present it to the English speaking working class in booklet form. Since this work was first published Dr. Bang has passed away. His death was a loss to the International movement, especially at a time when all the clearest and ablest men in that movement were needed. Gustav Bang was born September 26, 1871, in a small provincial town in Denmark. He died on January 31, 1015. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.