westerners have had a unique opportunity: a life of abject poverty and its dysfunctional mindset is no longer normal for many people

I guess, I don’t understand this part. Do you mean that westerners cannot fathom (already forgot) what it means to live hand to mouth? Also, I somehow cannot make connection between abject poverty and dysfunctional mindset, except maybe that abject poverty itself points to a serious dysfunction in society (economic stratification exacerbated by lack of education perhaps). Or do you mean something else?