But isn't total wealth relative to the economy one lives in? I'm thinking of Steven Pinker and his latest book "Enlightenment Now", where he discusses some stag

But isn't total wealth relative to the economy one lives in? I'm thinking of Steven Pinker and his latest book "Enlightenment Now", where he discusses some staggering stats about world poverty that are really worth considering. Of course things can definitely be much better. But it seems we actually have been making tremendous progress along this line, so the article's negative connotations may be a bit misplaced.