18. By what belief were Modernists driven and what Intensified it?

Modernists were driven by a belief in the power of **reason and progress** to improve human society and create a better future. This belief was intensified by the rapid **social, technological, and scientific changes** of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Things like industrialization, urbanization, new scientific discoveries (like evolution and relativity), and World War I dramatically reshaped the world and led many to question traditional beliefs and values. Modernists embraced these changes, seeing them as opportunities to break with the past and create a new, more rational and just world.