Reasons why 21st century won't be that bad?

[Alardem]

being forced to ignore the downtrodden and exploit them in order to survive

Forced to exploit them how?

Corporations either 'outsource' their jobs to poor people living in developing nations because the regulations are looser (as is commonly the case in the Southeast Asian nation I'm from), or use immigrants as expendable and cheap sources of work. The richest and most 'developing' places, like Qatar or Hong Kong, quietly sweep under the rug the fact that all their splendor comes at the cross of many migrant workers. The irony is that the unemployment crisis in places like the United States is not the fault of immigrants/foreigners, but by the people choosing to exploit them instead.

However, the reason why businesses do this is not out of willful evil, but because it's simply cheaper. If you want to stay ahead, you have to minimize costs and maximize profits. A character like Mandus acknowledges the fact that, in a time of great change (be it the Industrial Revolutions of the 1800s or the 'development' we see now), only a small portion of humanity will be able to reap the benefits of having the majority of resources allocated to them while the rest are stuck with being the loam. I take great comfort in living in the future, with the internet allowing me to speak with people on the other end of the planet and air travel allowing me to go to places in the fraction of the time a boat would require, but statistics show that:

-5,000,000,000 people still lack internet
-2,500,000,000 lack proper sanitation
-8,700,000 are chronically starving
-7,590,000 adults lack education

This is not the fault of 'over-population' so much as it is the fact that developed countries happen to consume far more resources than those in poorer nations. However, how many people are willing to give up their luxuries in order to give unseen millions a marginally better life? This is not to say the world is getting worse so much as it is the visibility of the world's problems is increasing. Starvation, war, oppression, disease, ignorance have likely been with us ever since the first civilization - we're just more aware of it now, and I argue that that is a good thing. Social progress comes from public awareness.

As a side note, if you want to stay sane where I'm from, one learns to ignore the beggars everywhere. Firstly because many of them are exploited by gangs which take money from them, and secondly because there's just too many.