First Time in History: 50% of World is Middle-Class

For the first time in history more than half the world is middle-class—thanks to rapid growth in emerging countries. Read about it in The Economist article “Burgeoning Bourgeoisie.”

I am quite confident in attributing this rapid growth to one thing: Capitalism. And the man to thank most for the contemporary acceptance of Capitalism is Milton Friedman. Economist Andrei Shleifer describes this development over the last century:

The last quarter century has witnessed remarkable progress of mankind. The world’s per capita inflation-adjusted income rose from $5400 in 1980 to $8500 in 2005. Schooling and life expectancy grew rapidly, while infant mortality and poverty fell just as fast. Compared to 1980, many more countries in the world are democratic today.

The last quarter century also saw wide acceptance of free market policies in both rich and poor countries: from private ownership, to free trade, to responsible budgets, to lower taxes. Three important events mark the beginning of this period. In 1979, Deng Xiao Ping started market reforms in China, which over the quarter century lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. In the same year, Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister in Britain, and initiated her radical reforms and a long period of growth. A year later, Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States, and also embraced free market policies. All three of these leaders professed inspiration from the work of Milton Friedman. It is natural, then, to refer to the last quarter century as the Age of Milton Friedman.