The Great Surge

The Great Surge:  The Ascent of the Developing World, by Steven Radelet, Simon & Schuster 2015

Would you say that global economic shifts in the past ten to twenty years have bettered the lot of the world's poor?  Or would you be more inclined to say that economics continue to favor the 1%? 

Well, Steven Radelet's book argues that around the world the poorest of the poor, thanks to the end of the Cold War and Communism, the forces of technology, logistics, and attention are causing a reversal of fortunes. 

But first, a look at the basic data:

*  since the early 1990s 1 billion people have been lifted out of extreme poverty

        *  the average income for hundreds of millions of people in dozens of poor countries has more than doubled

                *  6 million fewer children die every year from disease

                *   war and violence have declined significantly; 

                *  average life expectancy has increased y six years

                *  tens of millions more girls are in school

                *  the share of people living in chronic hunger has been cut nearly in half

                *  millions more people have access to clean water

                *  democracy - often fragile and imperfect - has become the norm norm rather than the exception in developing countries around the world

You may not be in complete agreement with each of those author statements, but readers will enjoy following the author's predictions and vision for what comes next.   The next twenty years, Radelet says, are critical if the freedom from poverty movements are to continue.  In fact, he believes that if all goes as he hopes, during the next 20 years 700M more people will be lifted out of extreme poverty.  Further, incomes in developing countries will more than double again, childhood death will continue to decline,  hundreds of millions of children will be educated, and basic rights and democratic freedoms will spread further around the world.  

Readers will ask, no doubt, but what about jihad and nuclear proliferation, etc.  Although pieces of the book cover Egypt, Iran, Iraq, etc.,  we would like to read more from Radelet about how he sees these Arc of the Caliphate movements affecting his progressive visions.