Evolution, Empowerment, and Emancipation: How Societies Climb the Freedom Ladder

This article presents a new theory of development that unifies disparate insights into a single framework, focusing on human empowerment—a process that emancipates people from domination. Historically, human empowerment on a mass scale started only recently because civilization matured late where natural conditions bestow an initial utility on freedoms that has been absent elsewhere (initiation thesis). However, globalization is breaking human empowerment free from its confinement to the initially favorable conditions (contagion thesis). Together, these and several other theses integrate into Evolutionary Emancipation Theory (EET). After unfolding EET, the article presents evidence in support of its major propositions.