This paper examines the role that comparative analysis and global policy studies can play in explaining the human condition in the contemporary world. It investigates economic well-being, one dimension of the human condition, and examines some of the attributes that represent it and some of the forces that affect it in villages, social groupings, and nation states around the world. A model for a cross-national study is presented and discussed. The author uses available data to compare indicators of economic well-being. Indicators include dietary characteristics; amount of money governments spend annually per capita in health, education, and the military; government expenditures as a percentage of GNP; infant mortality; life expectancy; and basic literacy data. Additional sources of data for use in a cross-national study are discussed. The author then examines additional factors which must be considered in a cross-national study. These include global forces, historical and developmental forces, ideological forces, political culture and political participation, and the impact and power of the state. In the conclusion, the author points out that in a broad and new field of inquiry like global policy studies, we need certain models, frameworks, and theories for definition, guidance, and enrichment. (Author/RM)