[ben_w]

> But then we also likely have the resources to end hunger, poverty and war, yet those have never been the world’s priorities.

And yet, all of those things declined; in the case of poverty the decline is in both absolute and relative terms.

Certainly more needs to be done in all of these things: we only succeed when we reach the destination, not just when we walk the path. Conversely, every step on that path brings us closer to success and is a reason for optimism.