The first section of this Conclusion summarizes the major insights of this book. Figure C.1 provides a synopsis. In the second section, I outline how these insights account for seven of the most fundamental facts about democracy. Section 3 discusses the links of the human empowerment framework to some related concepts of major importance, including existential security, the human need hierarchy, and social capital. Section 4 asks whether the key set of orientations that emerges with human empowerment – emancipative values – improves the moral stature of our species. The final section provides a condensed restatement of the theory of emancipation.

Key Insights

We have seen massive evidence for a multitude of trends toward human empowerment. Every bit and piece of this evidence makes sense within a single theory: the evolutionary theory of emancipation. This theory locates the source of the empowerment trend in the human desire for emancipation, that is, a life free from external domination. The theory explains the origin of this desire and outlines when it grows strong and when not.