Could it be caused by the fact that the middle class of the Western World seem to be shrinking all over the board, with job security and a smaller ration of home owners as the result?

When I grew up in the early 80's most kids would have expected to be home-owners at 25, have a steady job and a few kids with an optimistic look at the future.

Instead, most woke up into a reality where they would have to partake in an obvious real-estate bubble, or rent a smaller-than-expected apartment in a downtrodden neigborhood, and where jobs were hard to come by due to outsourcing and automation, or to the older generations simply not wanting to retire.

Most of those I grew up with now seem to be amongst the people with a very pessimistic world view.

Have the World become a better place for the majority of the World's population? Definitely! For the middle class in Europe and North America? I'm not so sure.