China and India have led the way in growth, with the fastest- and second-fastest-growing major economies in the world. Thus, what have been sinks of human misery on a vast scale for centuries are becoming more livable. China accounted for almost all the recent drop in people living on less than $1 a day, experiencing a decline of 300 million since 1990. India has seen its mortality rate for children under the age of 5 decline from 123 per 1,000 in 1990 to 74 in 2005.
Such growth in developing countries is the result of, according to the World Bank, "further integration into world markets, better functioning internal markets and rising demand for many commodities." In short: globalization and capitalism. When a goateed anarcho-syndicalist commits an act of vandalism at an anti-globalization protest, he might think that he's striking a blow against The Man, but he's really rallying against the chance some desperately poor little boy or girl has to live a healthier life.
Because we in the West have reached the sunny uplands of sustained economic development, we can worry about the deleterious second-order effects -- pollution, etc. -- of growth. In too many places around the world, however, economic growth is still a matter of life and death. Governments, philanthropists and activists have been pouring massive resources into fighting AIDS and other diseases in the Third World recently. This is all very commendable, but we can't ignore the main event.
By all means, let's save the world -- help it grow.