Most people, who have some knowledge of history, have an idea why World War II was fought: The aggressive militaristic dictatorships of Germany and Japan attempted to conquer the world and the other modern countries of the world united to stop them. But in general, people are far less knowledgeable about the reason why World War I was fought. Germany is generally considered to have been the bad guy, but the actual causes of World War I are more complicated than that and go back to the previous century. The economic, social, and political condition is Europe in the second half the 19th century can be compared to an enormous bowl of soup. At first there was only simmering water. But then as more ingredients were added and the heat turned up, the bowl of soup became a thick boiling mixture that eventually boiled over. Let's take a look at these ingredients.