The Ideas That Conquered the World : Peace, Democracy, and Free Markets in the Twenty-First Century

Here, Mandelbaum outlines the new power realities in the world today, and the challenges facing the West. Although the 11 September attacks were both terrible and traumatic, they did not reverse the main global trends of the 21st century, trends that are remarkably favourable to the nations of the West. Instead, these events illuminated the world that emerged from the end of the Cold War. This is a world dominated by three great ideas, each of them belonging to the Anglo-American political tradition known as liberalism, which were introduced as the basis of international order in the aftermath of World War I: free market economics, democratic politics and peaceful relations among the countries of the world. This text shows how the wars and revolutions of the past two centuries, along with the strongest and most under-appreciated of all historical forces, the power of example, brought these three ideas to a commanding position across the globe. As major war has declined, the free market has become the most widely accepted institution in all of human history. Mandelbaum explains why this happened and how the rise of free markets holds the key to a peaceful and democratic future. Connecting the past with the future, and politics with economics, this book provides a controversial picture of the new world of the 21st century, a world uniquely favourable to Western values and interests.