At the outset I want to mention that, in spite of the doomsayers, the present world is better than it ever has been. The evils of slavery and colonialism have mostly disappeared; the caste system and the last stranglehold of apartheid have crumbled; monarchies, autocratic governments and authoritarian dictatorships are slowly but happily disappearing. Deep wounds, scars, and traumas caused by oppressive regimes, exploitations, abuse, and neglect of the past will take a long time to heal. India, for instance, has not recovered from a loss of identity resulted from the colonial era or an English system of education initiated by Macaulay about 175 years ago to create a servant class for the avowed purpose of serving the British Empire. Most of Asia and Africa have been colonized, conquered, occupied, and divvied up by Europe. The entire Americas were "discovered" and the natives were decimated and contained by Europe. The entire continent of Australia was occupied and populated by Europeans. Again the greater portion of the land mass of the earth is enjoyed by far fewer people originating from one continent while the great majority is squeezed into a relatively smaller portion. The law of the jungle or might is right prevailed in the past, and the same game still goes on. The entire political map of the globe was redrawn after colonization, subjugation, and occupation. The United Nations (UN) created in 1945 after the Second World War to foster peace and prosperity in the world has five member nations - USA, Russia, UK, France, and China - with veto power to control and manage the destiny of the world. Yet India with more than the combined population of the four out of five veto-holding nations has no veto power. It is not that I want any nation to have any veto power. But if an organization created with the sole purpose of fostering peace and equity fails so miserably in justice, what does that tell us about the world we live in? How can UN model a world when it is so defective intrinsically? No wonder why UN is so ineffective. Here I must also note with sadness that democracy, the best form of government the world has seen, has not taken roots in some of the Islamic countries.

             Psychologically it is very understandable if the oppressed or the conquered end up adopting the values of the oppressors or the conquerors. The oppressed is likely to copy the values and master the skills of their oppressors that subjugated them with the hope that one day they can outdo their masters. The world is reveling in manipulation, power, and control, ever so subtle and sophisticated, to cajole, win over, subdue, and even arm-twist others into subjugation and subservience. The world is so muddled and confused that most of the people do not even know if they are subjects or objects, if they are using/abusing others or being used and abused. The world has made great strides, but it is still emerging from the dark Middle Ages. The goal is for all people to become sovereign subjects in their own right. On the political dimension the world has still a long way to go. On this factor I have to give a negative score.