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A Half Century of Promise and Progress

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The Social Progress of Nations Revisited, 1970–2020

Part of the book series: Social Indicators Research Series ((SINS,volume 78))

Abstract

Nations are dynamic entities that are constantly changing in response to the needs of often expanding populations (Ghose, 2013; United Nations Population Division, 2018). They also change or realign existing systems in response to the complex social, economic, political, technological, and environmental needs that emerge with increased frequency and seriousness (Central Intelligence Agency, 2018; World Bank, 2018). Issues of emigration, immigration, and diversity-related social conflict also impact the capacity of nations to perform their varied functions. Though quite diverse with respect to geographic size, population characteristics, type of polity, and economic system, nations share a variety of features and functions. Ranked in order by their relative importance, the most unifying characteristics of state functions are (1) recognition of their political sovereignty by other nations; (2) a coherent set of principles that guides their interactions with other sovereign states; (3) a defensible set of secure geopolitical borders; (4) the administration of justice within a system of laws to which, optimally, the governed have assented (e.g., via a written constitution and an independent judiciary); (5) the provision of a range of “public goods” designed to meet the collective needs of their populations (e.g., the creation of monetary and banking systems, road-building and other transportation networks, the development of communications infrastructure, and the provision of at least limited health, education, and related human services); (6) special public and private initiatives designed to meet the income security and related needs of their most vulnerable inhabitants, e.g., children, the elderly, persons with chronic illnesses or disabilities, unemployed persons, families with large numbers of children (Estes & Zhou, 2014); and (7) a commitment to promoting the general well-being of the society as a whole (Estes & Sirgy, 2017a; Helliwell, Layard, & Sachs, 2017).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The concept of the “nation-state(s)” embraces two distinct components: the “state” or “states” refer to discrete political and geopolitical territories over which the state, acting as a “government,” claims sovereignty; “nation” or “nations” refer to the cultural or ethnic characteristics of the people who reside in the state. The term “nation-state” implies that the two concepts coincide with one another (i.e., that the people of a given geographic territory share the same cultural, religious, and ethnic characteristics), although many modern nation-states are characterized by substantial cultural diversity even though their geopolitical borders are fully recognized and accepted by the international community (Central Intelligence Agency, 2018). Since the European Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, sovereign nation-states defer to one another as co-equal and autonomous powers with full authority over the territories and people they govern. The concept of sovereign nation-states constitutes the basis for membership and voting privileges in the United Nations as well as in most major nongovernmental and nonstate actor organizations, i.e., one nation, one vote.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Policy & Practice, University of Pennsylvania, Narberth, PA, USA

    Richard J. Estes

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Estes, R.J. (2019). A Half Century of Promise and Progress. In: The Social Progress of Nations Revisited, 1970–2020. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 78. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15907-8_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15907-8_1

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