Always change, but refrain stays the same

Possibly every generation believes it lives in the time of greatest change, as new technologies are introduced and become increasingly accessible and societal transformations produce generation gaps. But there might be more validity in saying that today than most times in the past.

Although human history has witnessed a number of significant eureka moments and societal changes that have fundamentally transformed how we live (I'm sure you have your own list of candidates to add to fire, the wheel, language and guns), today we appear to be on the cusp of some changes of similar significance.

One of these is the elimination of poverty, which some believe may be possible within a generation. This would be a momentous change, because as far as is known it would be the first time in human history that there would be no one living a hand-to-mouth existence, unless through choice or "frictional poverty" (those that move in and out of poverty, the World Bank estimates this residual number of poor at 3 percent).