Through increasing globalisation, the rest of the world embraced key aspects of Western liberal democracies, the best practices and governance models, open economies and trade, and, critically, the transfer of knowledge in science and technology. Hundreds of millions of people were lifted out of poverty worldwide, progressing to the aspiring middle class and middle-upper middle class. China was the biggest contributor to this feat, reducing the number of poor by nearly 800 million in the last 40 years of economic transformation.
Future generations may well look back to the present and agree that, with the benefit of hindsight, the 2020s were a major turning point for the world. For nearly eight decades since the end of World War II, humankind had enjoyed relative peace and order, fostering an environment that was conducive to investments, trade, economic development and growth, and prosperity. Sure, there were regional conflicts across the globe (in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa) and recessions, some more severe than others, but throughout this period, the global economy continued on its upward trajectory.
Notably, it was an unprecedented period for inclusive growth and upward social mobility. In the developed world, the middle class soon accounted for the majority of populations — there was broad wealth accumulation and people saw tremendous improvements in their standards of living. Americans born in the 1940s had a more than 90% chance of earning more than their parents. This era of American consumerism became the driver of global growth after World War II, the fruits of which then trickled through the developing world and, in particular, Asia, in the ensuing decades.
