No, it's some intentional decision of a suburban family in Kansas to not go be Amish. That's not how societies work.

And no, life is worse for millions of people around the world than it was in 1800 if for not other reason

This idea that things MUST be better just isn't supported with data. All the "data" about how great the world is is bad statistics - it's looking at averages only, not the distribution.

You can't point to the richest areas and claim "look see how great things are?"

Find the most destitute among us and see how they fare