HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_026847.jpg

trump revolution in the reshaping of the global architecture. The appearance of pressing transnational problems should drive a convergence of interests toward cooperation in finding common solutions. And the presence of large, well-educated middle classes in countries around the globe will help keep governments on the right track. There is every reason to be confident that the condition of the world will continue to improve as pragmatism and the use of reason become universal. Western universities have been a crucial driver of this trend. It is not just that their curricula have been copied around the world; the entire ecosystem of a modern research university is being replicated, and it is the graduates of these Western-style universities who have in turn introduced modern methods into education, public health, economic management, and public policy more generally. Global management consulting firms have also contributed to progress, spreading best practices and good ideas from the West to "the rest," and increasingly from the rest back to the West. As a result, even formerly desperate and dysfunctional countries, such as Bangladesh and Ethiopia, are now confidently entering the modern universe. In short, despite the daily headlines that scream doom and gloom, the world is actually coming together, not falling apart. So far, the fusion of civilizations has been driven primarily by the injection of Western DNA into other civilizations. Over time, the flow of culture and ideas is likely to go in both directions. This has already happened in cuisine, where global influences have thoroughly penetrated Western kitchens, and something similar should happen across cultural sectors. There will be challenges. There could even be major setbacks. The fusion of civilizations and the social and economic changes associated with it can seem threatening to some, creating opportunities for demagogues to exploit popular fears, even in the heart of the advanced industrial world. But increasingly open and enlightened societies are likely to avoid this danger. In the twenty-first century, the world will be governed more by the authority of ideas than by the idea of authority. In short, the progressive direction of human history, which has lifted the human condition to heights never seen before, is set to continue. === Follow Larry on Twitter at @LHSummers Follow Larry on Facebook Visit Larry's website at at www.larrysummers.com FB/LarrySummers HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_026847