If you look at overall worldwide poverty and starvation numbers, coupled with medical advancements and indoor plumbing, now is a pretty good time to be a human. Yes, there are lots of problems, but the standard of living (for the average person) has gotten so much better in the last 200 years
I have not read Peter Zeihans’ book, but going only by the blurb, I do take issues with the notion that global supply chains are only working because of the US Navy. That seems a wholeheartedly American view - as if China, or India, or the EU wouldn’t be able to trade unless the US Navy existed. If the point is one about piracy, then I certainly believe the fight against it, where it occurs, is deeply multinational and not dominated by the US Navy. Will have to read the book to understand his point, I think.
We'll so far it's been quite US centric so far, but I feel he has some solid arguments for most of his points. What's been intriguing to me is his economic history. It's presented in an engaging way.