Publication |
2014.
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Summary/Abstract |
This year, we commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of World War I, the so-called "war to end all wars." In reality, 1914 saw the beginning of a three-decade-long global nadir that encompassed two brutal world conflicts, a devastating influenza pandemic, and a worldwide depression. One hundred years later, the average person is about eight times richer than a century ago, living standards have soared, and average life expectancy has risen by over twenty years. The threat of war between great powers has declined, and our genetic code and universe have been unlocked in previously inconceivable ways. Many of today's goods are unimaginable without collective contributions from different parts of the world, a world through which more of us can move freely, provided we have the documents and means to do so. Our world is functionally smaller, and its possibilities are bigger and brighter than ever before.
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