Marx's ideas of class conflict have always intrigued me, and I see them hold true today when we think about the elites and the working class. In my opinion, it is a shame that the Cold War and Red Scare created a taboo around critiquing capitalism, as Marx's theory of class conflict provides a very useful sense for looking at the power disparity between colonial elites and the working class. The wealth gap continuing to grow larger and larger makes me anticipate further class consciousness, although, I do not know if I foresee a classless society as Marx describes.

I find it interesting how, historically, Christian faith was often not used as a personal conviction but more so as a religion as a tool of the state. Puritans saw indigenous people as obstacles to removed rather than souls to be saved. This directly contrasts Early Islamic Caliphates as they had significant cultural synthesis and trade-based conventions, and were typically more tolerable towards other cultures and beliefs.

I find it quite interesting how the Romantic Movement had a correlation to the scientific rationalism of the Enlightenment, the cold constraints of Neoclassicism, and the dehumanizing effects of the Industrial Revolution. I view the Romantic Period as a sort of rebellion against the cold nature of Enlightenment. I've noticed a trend in history where a period defined by more calculated and cold concepts tends to lead to a birth of new art and literature, which reaffirms the idea that humans need both for expression and expansion.