What would Japan and Germany be like today? (WW2, war, Britain)
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If they never fought in WWII. Lets make the assumption that both countries stopped the aggressive behavior. And for that matter what would Britain, Russia and America be like today? Economically, socially, politically.
If Japan stayed insular and militaristic it would probably be like North Korea is today.
Germany would have probably ended up in the same place it is today, but with more of it's history intact.
America would have also stayed more or less isolationists, and there might not even have been nuclear weapons invented, and no cold war. America would not have ended up as powerful as it did, though. We soared to new heights after the war because our competetors were crushed by the war while we came out essentially undamaged. If WWII didn't happen we wouldn't of had the "opportunity" to soar so far past them.
But the world was a powder keg waiting to explode. If WWII didn't happen, another huge war would have eventually broken out. Maybe it would have ended up worse...who knows?
Well, if we're writing fictional stories... I like my alt-history fiction to have some sci-fi in it too.
Maybe the Japanese would've removed their legs and replaced them with motorcycles, jet skis, or flying machines, depending on their caste. Regarding your social and economic questions: those that couldn't afford to do that would be an underclass of mutants created from the abundant radiation and toxic waste. It would be legal to shoot them at will. They would have then invaded Germany, which instead of starting war would have filled itself with identical concrete apartment complexes and everyone would've had plastic surgery to look exactly the same. There would be no sexes, and everyone would be made the same height and build.
America and Britain would have been taken over by France and Russians would all speak Swahili.
There still would have been a massive initiative by Japan to control China, and China would probably have been changed the most by a rewritten history. There would still have been a Mao, and still have been a movement throughout China to oppose foreign intervention, and might have played out the same, but in the context of an international war rather than civil.
The Chinese and Japanese have even less in common culturally than the French and Germans, who were always at war. So I doubt that there could today be a unified east Asia. Either China or Japan would dominate, or perhaps, as today, each would dominate its own sphere successfully.
The world today, more so than ever before, is divided into nation-states that reflect the prevailing culture. This, I believe is the logical outcome of any series of events, so the world as we see it now would still have evolved, but perhaps not on the same time scale. International dynamics has done little more than to render economic advantage to some peoples, while withholding it from others.
If Japan stayed insular and militaristic it would probably be like North Korea is today.
Germany would have probably ended up in the same place it is today, but with more of it's history intact.
America would have also stayed more or less isolationists, and there might not even have been nuclear weapons invented, and no cold war. America would not have ended up as powerful as it did, though. We soared to new heights after the war because our competetors were crushed by the war while we came out essentially undamaged. If WWII didn't happen we wouldn't of had the "opportunity" to soar so far past them.
But the world was a powder keg waiting to explode. If WWII didn't happen, another huge war would have eventually broken out. Maybe it would have ended up worse...who knows?
Indeed, the world between 1930 and 1940 was a powder keg waiting to explode. Joseph Stalin was the absolute ruler of the Soviet Union. Mussolini ruled Italy as a dictator beginning in 1923. Hitler ruled Germany from 1933 until the end of the war. Japan was ruled by a bunch of military men bent on the conquest of China and East Asia.
The Depression that gripped the USA during the 1930's was a worldwide problem and economic chaos tends to bring out the worst in people. Even today, there are many people around the world who would gladly trade freedom for some degree of economic prosperity. The Depression was directly responsible for the creation and continuation of many of the dictatorial regimes. Many disaffected Americans traveled abroad during the Depression and wrote praises of the regimes they found in Germany, Italy, and even the Soviet Union.
I would assert dictatorships are inherently unstable regimes that tend to lead toward war and violence. First, dictators need excuses or scapegoats to justify taking away everyone's liberty. Whether its the Jews, international bankers, foreign nations who allegedly wish to take over their lands, or resources that cannot be obtained through peaceful channels, dictators thrive by convincing their people that only they can deal with these problems. Second, in a dictatorship there is generally no clear path of succession. No one knows how or who the leader will be replaced by when he steps down, dies, or is overthrown. This creates much anxiety and unease in the nation. Third, foreign countries are not deaf to the rhetoric that dictators use on their own people. They hear the language of violence and war and take defensive measures. These measures may help precipitate the actual conflict.
In short, war was bound to break out between some nations. It was simply a question of who would start it and when it would begin.
If they never fought in WWII. Lets make the assumption that both countries stopped the aggressive behavior. And for that matter what would Britain, Russia and America be like today? Economically, socially, politically.
This a harder question in that a lot of what transpired since WW2 was put in place by what ranspired during WW1. World War 1 destroyed the system of autocratic Monarchies ruling in Continental Europe. Gone were Emperor Franz Josef (Austria-Hungary), Czar Nicolas 2 (Russia), and Kaisar Wilhem 2 (Germany). The US Dollar began to replace the British Pound as the currency most international business was done. Britain was a lot like America in 2009 sinking into Debt and possibly dragging the rest of the world with it. A small group of malcontents prevailed in post Czarist Russia and they founded the Soviet Union. Japan guessed right in joining the Allies in WW1 and added Germany's Pacific and Chinese concessions. Japan was a Feudal state run by a military dictator since the 17th century but opened to the West in the late 1850s (Meiji restoration) and in 50 years had heavy industry and technology to match the West (Think China today). Japan lacks coal, oil, rubber, iron ore and most metals. The rearest places to get them included Siberia, China, SE Asia and last but not least the Americas. Germany which didn't start WW1 was assigned the blame at Versailles and was fined by the Allies who also stripped Germany of sovereigty of about 20% of its territory. So the German public got a wack-job who was good at telling Germans a seductive message and they bought it. So coming into the 1920s was this mess and so there was nothing special about the war starting in 1939 it could have erupted in 1929 or 1949. War became either the most favored option for the sane and if you were insane why not pursue your dreams. Who knows you might suceed!
Germany would have been as strong/influential as Britian is today (probably a nuclear power, a permanent seat on the security countil), and stronger militarily. Britian might be slightly financially stronger. Russia would be more populous. America wouldn't be quite as strong but still the primary power of the world. These are just guesses basically.
Japn is a isalnd with few resources ;so who knows. Germany was destined as all of europe was to fight over their empires in the world at some point.Europe its to be remmeebr had been one war or anther for centuries over empire.Bacaily WWII pretty much ended that as it bankrupted evebn the victors in europe.WWI resulted alos ina slaughter of much of its young men and WWII did the same to much of the indutrial workforce making the whole of europe the battlefield.
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