World peace, Baha’is believe, is not a naïve dream, not some vague, pious hope, not even an option—world peace is inevitable:
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The Great Peace towards which people of good will throughout the centuries have inclined their hearts, of which seers and poets for countless generations have expressed their vision, and for which from age to age the sacred scriptures of mankind have constantly held the promise, is now at long last within the reach of the nations. For the first time in history it is possible for everyone to view the entire planet, with all its myriad diversified peoples, in one perspective. World peace is not only possible but inevitable. It is the next stage in the evolution of this planet – in the words of one great thinker, “the planetization of mankind”. – The Universal House of Justice, The Promise of World Peace, p. 1.

The seventh Ishráq of Baháʼu'lláh's Ishráqat stipulates as follows
"Unto every father hath been enjoined the instruction of his son and daughter in the art of reading and writing... "
While there do exist a number of preliterate or non-literate cultures, Baháʼís assume the spread of literacy to be one of the signs of an "ever-advancing civilization." For example, a priesthood is not needed in this era because the ability to read and write is no longer restricted to a professional class, with the masses reduced to auditors of their sacred texts.