How 10 Billion Will Live

From the DAILY BEAST:

Next week, according to United Nations projections, the world will pass 7 billion in population, and by the end of this century it’s likely to grow by half again to 10 billion.

What will determine their quality of life? From an economist’s view, what matters is the productivity of the 10 billion—will they be educated and have jobs that contribute to economic growth? From a sociologist’s view, what matters is whether the 10 billion are socialized into stable roles in society—can they build families, and join communities where they have dignity and focus on building for the future? From a political scientist’s view, what matters is the quality of government in countries where most of the 10 billion will live—will those governments avoid corruption, enforce the rule of law, and protect participation and civil rights?..

Of the 3 billion additional people who will join the world this century, virtually all of them will be growing up in countries that today are rated by the George Mason University Fragile States Index as having governments that have serious, high, or extreme fragility. These are governments that do not enforce the rule of law, have high rates of internal violence, and do a poor job providing education and jobs for their people…

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EDITOR: For an answer to the above, one should read “The End of Poverty” by Jeffrey Sachs.  His major thesis is  that,  by 2025, extreme, debilitating poverty would be eliminated  if the more prosperous nations would live up to what they promise in foreign aid.