The Inevitable Arc: Utility, Integration, and the Direction of History
The phrase “the right side of history” is often dismissed as rhetorical flourish, but a rigorous analysis of human development suggests it describes a tangible phenomenon. History is not a series of random, cyclical events; it possesses a distinct directionality. That direction is an ascent toward higher levels of integration, cooperation, and collective well-being. Specifically, the trajectory of human civilization points toward International Socialism—defined here as a robust system of international law coupled with economic social democracy based on Keynesian principles. This evolution is not merely accidental; it is inevitable because this system possesses the highest utility value of any social arrangement, and it is the duty of education to accelerate our arrival at this destination.
The Directionality of History: From Chaos to International Law
To understand why there is a “right” side of history, one must observe the trend of political organization over millennia. Human society has consistently moved from the micro to the macro—from isolated tribes to city-states, to nation-states, and finally toward international bodies.
This trend is driven by the necessity of managing complexity. As technological and economic interdependencies grow, smaller units of governance become insufficient. The logical endpoint of this trajectory is a unified system of international law.
- Conflict Resolution: Just as national laws replaced tribal feuds, international law provides the mechanism to resolve disputes between nations without resorting to the inefficient destruction of war.
- Global Standards: Issues such as climate change, pandemics, and trade require standardized, enforceable global rules that transcend national borders.
Therefore, the “right side of history” is the side that pushes for the erosion of Westphalian sovereignty in favor of supranational governance, reducing global anarchy and fostering a stable platform for human development.
The Economic Engine: Keynesian Social Democracy
If international law provides the political skeleton of this future, Keynesian social democracy provides the lifeblood. History has demonstrated that unregulated capitalism often leads to volatility and inequality that threaten social stability, while rigid state communism stifles innovation. The synthesis—the “right” direction—lies in the middle path which maximizes the strengths of both.
Based on the principles of John Maynard Keynes, this system utilizes government intervention to manage aggregate demand, ensuring full employment and price stability.
- The Multiplier Effect: By injecting capital into the middle and working classes through social programs, the state ensures continuous consumption, which drives production and innovation.
- Social Safety Nets: Universal healthcare, housing guarantees, and unemployment insurance are not merely charitable; they are economic stabilizers that prevent deep recessions and maintain high productivity.
This economic model aligns with the direction of history because it solves the contradictions of earlier systems, offering a sustainable path for global growth that benefits the many rather than the few.
The Utility Argument: Why This Future is “Right”
The claim that this specific configuration (International Socialism) is the “right” side of history is ultimately a utilitarian argument. In ethics, a system’s validity is often measured by its utility value—its ability to produce the greatest good for the greatest number.
Comparing historical systems reveals a clear hierarchy of utility:
- Feudalism/Authoritarianism: High suffering, low freedom, low general utility.
- Laissez-Faire Capitalism: High innovation, but high inequality and cyclical suffering (boom/bust).
- International Social Democracy: High innovation, high stability, low suffering.
International socialism offers the highest utility because it creates a floor beneath which no human is allowed to fall, while maintaining the engine of economic progress. It minimizes the “wrong side of history”—poverty, war, and exploitation—and maximizes human flourishing. Because human societies naturally seek to minimize pain and maximize well-being, they will inevitably drift, however slowly, toward this high-utility equilibrium.
Education as the Accelerator
If the destination is inevitable, the speed at which we arrive depends on our cognitive infrastructure. This is where education becomes a moral imperative. Education should not be a neutral transfer of facts; it must be the catalyst for social evolution.
To aid this transition, educational curricula should focus on:
- Global Citizenship: Shifting identity from the nation-state to the human community, preparing students for international legal frameworks.
- Economic Literacy: Teaching the mechanics of Keynesian economics and the utility of social safety nets, rather than the “natural laws” of unregulated markets.
- Critical Empathy: Cultivating the utilitarian mindset that values the well-being of a distant stranger as equal to that of a neighbor.
By aligning education with the direction of history, we reduce the friction of transition. We can skip decades of unnecessary trial and error by equipping the next generation with the blueprint for the high-utility society that awaits them.
Conclusion
There is a right side of history because there is a logical evolution toward systems that work better. Just as technology evolves from simple tools to complex machines, society evolves from fragmented, competitive units toward an integrated, cooperative whole. International socialism, grounded in the stability of international law and the equity of Keynesian social democracy, represents the peak of this developmental arc. It is the “right” side because it creates the most prosperous, stable, and humane world possible.