Education is the best hope for peace and progress in the world, and because education is best given and received when infused with critical thinking, critical thinking can save the world. Some of the most serious problems facing humankind are overpopulation and famine. The problems of ethnicity, colonialism, and religion further complicate matters worldwide. From the global perspective of questioning and analyzing situations in Malaysia, Norway, and other countries, the emphasis shifts to the problems in the classrooms of the United States. From surveying urban school teachers and college professors of inner city students, the academic competencies students need to develop are reading, writing, speaking and listening, mathematics, studying, and drawing conclusions from data. The last is known as critical thinking skills and is basic to effective learning. Students need the competencies to master subject matter, need the subject matter on which to hone the competencies, and need the ability to reason to do both. Three bases develop the assertion that critical thinking can help save the world: (1) the world needs saving; (2) reasoning is at the center of effective learning; and (3) a dimension exists that will ensure education is used to solve problems in ways that recognize the worth of all men and women. The application of critical thinking to the educational process can help save the world by insuring that well-educated, critical thinking minds will be available to take on the problems not only of this century but also of the next century. (CK)