The World Is Getting Better. So Why Does It Feel So Broken?
The most uncomfortable fact about global poverty may be that two things can be true at the same time: humanity can make enormous progress, and hundreds of millions of people can still be living in extreme poverty.
The World Bank’s September 2026 update estimated that more than 824 million people were living in extreme poverty in 2024. Its projections put the figure at roughly 9.8% of the world’s population in 2026.
That is a staggering number.
But there is another story hiding behind it. Extreme poverty has fallen dramatically over the longer term. The problem isn’t that progress is impossible. The problem is that progress is uneven, vulnerable and, in some places, painfully slow.
That distinction matters.
If we convince ourselves that nothing ever improves, we lose the evidence that solutions can work. If we convince ourselves that progress automatically takes care of everyone, we miss the people being left behind.
Think about the difference between those two attitudes.
One says: “The system is working.”
The other says: “Parts of the system are working. Now why aren’t the benefits reaching everyone?”
That second question is much more useful.
It changes the conversation from despair to diagnosis.
And diagnosis matters because poverty isn’t simply a shortage of money. It can be connected to education, healthcare, housing, access to credit, employment, infrastructure, political power and the ability to participate in an economy.
That means handing someone money can help without necessarily fixing the mechanism that keeps producing insecurity.
This is where solutions become more interesting.
The answer might involve progressive taxation and stronger public services. It might involve financial inclusion, better labour protections, fairer trade, education or investment in local enterprise. Different places may require different combinations.
There is no magic button.
But here’s the strange part: we often demand one perfect solution to a problem created by dozens of interconnected systems.
Perhaps we should stop asking, “What’s the solution to poverty?”
A better question might be: “What combination of systems would make poverty harder to reproduce?”
That is a much harder question. It is also a more useful one.
This is one of the ideas I explore in my book, How We Can Fix Things: Unlocking Solutions for a Better World. The book looks at inequality not as an isolated problem, but as something connected to economics, healthcare, education, governance, environmental pressures and opportunity.
The World Bank’s latest figures give us reason for both concern and hope.
The difficult question is what we do with the hope.
If we know that progress is possible, but know that progress is not reaching everyone equally, should our priority be to accelerate growth — or to redesign the way its benefits are distributed?
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DDNVT3S7
Would you choose faster economic growth even if inequality remained high, or slower growth with a much more equal distribution of its benefits — and why?
#Poverty, #Inequality, #Economics, #GlobalDevelopment, #SocialJustice, #PublicPolicy, #EconomicReform, #GlobalProblems, #Solutions, #HowWeCanFixThings
Want more like this?
Get an occasional email when there’s something new worth reading. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
By subscribing you agree to receive occasional emails about new releases. Unsubscribe anytime by replying to any email.
