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

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  • Welzel, Christian

Abstract

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.

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  • Welzel, Christian, 2014. "Evolution, Empowerment, and Emancipation: How Societies Climb the Freedom Ladder," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 33-51.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:64:y:2014:i:c:p:33-51
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.05.016
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    Cited by:

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    2. Frankema, Ewout, 2015. "The Biogeographic Roots of World Inequality: Animals, Disease, and Human Settlement Patterns in Africa and the Americas Before 1492," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 274-285.
    3. Waleed A. Jami & Clayton Peoples, 2022. "Political opportunity, democracy, and 40 years of protest, 1981–2020: A cross‐national analysis," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 103(6), pages 1440-1458, November.
    4. Amy C. Alexander & Ronald Inglehart & Christian Welzel, 2016. "Emancipating Sexuality: Breakthroughs into a Bulwark of Tradition," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 129(2), pages 909-935, November.
    5. Davis, Lewis S. & Williamson, Claudia R., 2022. "Individualism and women's economic rights," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 579-597.
    6. Qinwen Deng & Shuai Xiang & Boli Chen, 2023. "Rural Land Consolidation and Social Consciousness Change: A Case Study of a Land Consolidation Program in Rural Chongqing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-19, November.
    7. Sunde, Uwe & Kotschy, Rainer, 2022. "Does Demography Determine Democratic Attitudes?," CEPR Discussion Papers 17624, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    8. Jeanet Sinding Bentzen & Gunes Gokmen, 2023. "The power of religion," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 45-78, March.
    9. Rengin B. Firat, 2017. "Discrimination and Well-Being: The Moderating Effects of Agentic Value Orientations," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 134(1), pages 167-194, October.
    10. Santos Silva, Manuel & Alexander, Amy C. & Klasen, Stephan & Welzel, Christian, 2023. "The roots of female emancipation: Initializing role of Cool Water," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 133-159.
    11. Steven A. Brieger & Claude Francoeur & Christian Welzel & Walid Ben-Amar, 2019. "Empowering Women: The Role of Emancipative Forces in Board Gender Diversity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(2), pages 495-511, March.
    12. Barreto, Tais S. & Lanivich, Stephen E. & Cox, Kevin C., 2022. "Temporal orientation as a robust predictor of innovation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 287-300.
    13. Schaerer, Michael & du Plessis, Christilene & Nguyen, My Hoang Bao & van Aert, Robbie C.M. & Tiokhin, Leo & Lakens, Daniël & Giulia Clemente, Elena & Pfeiffer, Thomas & Dreber, Anna & Johannesson, Mag, 2023. "On the trajectory of discrimination: A meta-analysis and forecasting survey capturing 44 years of field experiments on gender and hiring decisions," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    14. Binelli, Chiara & Loveless, Matthew & Whitefield, Stephen, 2015. "What Is Social Inequality and Why Does it Matter? Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 239-248.
    15. Jeanet Sinding Bentzen & Nicolai Kaarsen & Asger Moll Wingender, 2017. "Irrigation and Autocracy," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(1), pages 1-53.
    16. Gert Schout & Gideon De Jong, 2018. "The Weakening of Kin Ties: Exploring the Need for Life-World Led Interventions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-12, January.
    17. Davis, Lewis S. & Williamson, Claudia R., 2019. "Does individualism promote gender equality?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 1-1.

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