No, prison reform is that hard. Same with FGM in Africa. The key component of these issues is that they are cultural problems. Entire cultures of people do not

No, prison reform is that hard. Same with FGM in Africa. The key component of these issues is that they are cultural problems. Entire cultures of people do not see them as problems at all or want them to be fixed. To fix them quickly you need to restructure and redirect an entire culture in the blink of an eye. Which is something brilliant people have been trying and failing to do for thousands of years of human history. You've highlighted quite well why startup culture has never successfully solved a sociopolitical problem; startups are a flash in the pan and real issues take longer than its shelf life to solve. I'm all for optimism but thinking you're going to solve a real social problem to, say, 'disrupt homelessness' by writing an iPhone app is the height of tech-infused naive narcissism. Using tools which are wholly unsuited to the job and expecting quick and easy solutions without years of hard work when the problems you are facing are genuinely difficult is not optimism. Nothing about the article was pessimistic. Rather it is optimistic. It is a gentle suggestion to people who want to fix the world that as tempting as it is to look far away, where the issues are clear and crisp from a distance, you should consider starting closer to home, because you'll find the problems are equally as difficult but you don't have to learn an entirely new language and mode of existence before you begin.