Despite all this, humanity thrived. Populations quickly recovered and expected life-spans increased to new highs. Also, a great change in attitude occurred. Moderate idealism triumphed over utopianism and cynicism. In attitude the world is much different.
Empire is now a dirty word.
So too is racism. The average person in these countries are broader minded than they were in 1900. Democracy is more accepted. War is no longer thought of as beneficial to the human spirit. In a way the fears of Kaplan are a sign of the improvement in attitude.