I am of the opinion that we can't have the changes necessary to improve society until an earth-wide catastrophe takes place. The pre-existing framework we're talking about has divided people along pretty trivial lines that we as individuals refuse to overcome for whatever reason. Trying to impose the changes that'd approach benefiting more rather than the few gets you baby steps in certain areas of the larger construct. Even history shows that positive change has a habit of being preceded by a "physical" event (war, protests, natural disasters, etc.) It seems that humanity, as a majority, is still unwilling to accept each other as equals.
I have to depressingly agree.I am of the opinion that we can't have the changes necessary to improve society until an earth-wide catastrophe takes place. [...] It seems that humanity, as a majority, is still unwilling to accept each other as equals.
I think you are both excessively optimistic. It's pretty rare that catastrophe results in a better society (you specify earth-wide but if you look at history earth wide didn't have to be all that big to be everything a society knew). Sure now and then things go a bit better after something terrible (WWII, The fall of the Assyrian Empire) but for the most part it's just despots and starvation.