<P> Marxists typically attributed the start of the war to imperialism . "Imperialism," argued Lenin, "is the monopoly stage of capitalism ." He thought the monopoly capitalists went to war to control markets and raw materials . </P> <P> Social Darwinism was a theory of human evolution loosely based on Darwinism that influenced most European intellectuals and strategic thinkers in the 1870 - 1914 era . These theories emphasized that struggle between nations and "races" was natural and that only the fittest nation deserved to survive . It gave an impetus to German assertiveness as a world economic and military power, aimed at competing with France and Britain for world power . German colonial rule in Africa 1884 - 1914 was an expression of nationalism and moral superiority that was justified by constructing an image of the natives as "Other". This approach highlighted racist views of mankind . German colonization was characterized by the use of repressive violence in the name of' culture' and' civilization' . Germany's cultural - missionary project boasted that its colonial programs were humanitarian and educational endeavors . Furthermore, the wide acceptance among intellectuals of social Darwinism justified Germany's right to acquire colonial territories as a matter of the' survival of the fittest', according to historian Michael Schubert . </P> <P> The model suggested an explanation of why some ethnic groups (called "races" at the time) had been so antagonistic for so long, such as Germans and Slavs . They were natural rivals, destined to clash . Senior German generals such as Helmuth von Moltke talked in apocalyptic terms about the need for Germans to fight for their existence as a people and culture . MacMillan states: "Reflecting the Social Darwinist theories of the era, many Germans saw Slavs, as especially Russia as the natural opponent of the Teutonic races". Social Darwinism extended to Austria, where Conrad, Chief of the Austro - Hungarian General Staff declared: "A people that lays down its weapons seals its fate ." In July 1914 the Austrian press described Serbia and the South Slavs in terns which owed much to Social Darwinism . </P> <P> War was seen as natural and a viable or even useful instrument of policy . "War was compared to a tonic for a sick patient or a life - saving operation to cut out diseased flesh". Since war was natural for some leaders it was simply a question of timing, and it would be therefore better to have a war when the circumstances where most precipitous . "I consider a war inevitable", declared Moltke in 1912, "The sooner the better". </P>

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