ABSTRACT
This chapter describes three assertions. First, the current turmoil is masking a process that promises to reduce greatly the incidence of poverty in the world. The second assertion is that the world will become more democratic. Not all democracies are rich, as India clearly demonstrates, but the correlation between income and freedom is high, not only worldwide but within almost all regions, and the main direction of causation runs from growing wealth to growing freedoms. The third claim is that, because democracies tend not to war with each other, the incidence of wars in time should recede as the proportion of democratic countries rises, assuming that other things are equal. Even now, several developing countries are suffering from the effects of financial crises, ethnic and religious conflicts abound, populations are growing rapidly, economically destructive economic policies persist and several states have recently acquired or are trying to get weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
