The World Really Is Getting Better
Some days or decades, everything in the world seems to be getting worse. Global warming is unstoppable. Political polarization is tearing us apart. Women’s rights are backsliding in Afghanistan and, American liberals might argue, in the U.S. as well. European energy costs are skyrocketing, China is heading into recession, Ukraine is locked in existential war, and many African countries face a growing food crisis.
The list of sorrows goes on and on. So what is there to be optimistic about?
Today, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation released its Goalkeepers Report on global progress. Seven years ago, 200 world leaders agreed to 17 development goals, including the elimination of deep poverty and world hunger by 2030. The report finds that although the world is on track to achieve “almost none” of its ambitious goals, the planet is still better off than it was 30 years ago in almost every category.