A More Peaceful World

Not just in the future, but right now, says Thomas Barnett:

Our world today is more crowded than it's ever been, and yet we've never had a smaller percentage of humanity either engaging in or preparing for mass violence. We're not entering an age of perpetual war, as some would have it. Instead, we're moving into the century that will feature more peace than any before it.

Here are the facts from the "Human Security Report 2005," prepared by University of British Columbia:

Armed conflicts decreased by more than 40 percent since the early 1990s.

Genocide and politically inspired murders have dropped by roughly 80 percent since the late 1980s, with only the Middle East suffering an increase.

International crises have decreased to the point where today we suffer roughly one-quarter the number we routinely endured just a generation ago.

Secessionist movements and resulting civil wars are at their lowest levels since the mid-1970s.
Military coups have steadily decreased over the past four decades, from 25 in 1963 to just 10 in 2004 — and each of those 10 attempts failed.

Global defense spending and arms sales peaked in the late 1980s and now sit at roughly one-half of those levels — except in "fear factor" America, of course.

Global troop levels are likewise down significantly since the late 1980s, and war-related deaths have decreased to a stunning degree: 50 years ago, the average war killed 38,000 troops, while today's wars average 600 combat casualties.

Similarly, global refugees from conflicts dropped by almost half since 1992.

Finally, more than 60 dictatorships have disappeared over the past 30 years, which helps explain why human rights abuses are down across the planet.

Part of the problem, which Barnett didn't mention, is that we are constantly bombarded by a 24 hr-sensation seeking news media, which makes things seem worse than they are, and likes it that way.