Technology and institutions
We all have our own models on what makes the world go around. Some people believe in great man theory, the idea that the world is largely the product of a few great men. Most religions preach some variant on 'little man theory,' the idea that a good society is the result of a virtuous population.
Both of these views are wrong. Instead, the world is driven by two things: technology and institutions. You can prove this by doing a few comparisons.
One comparison is the world today versus 200 years ago. Back then, more than 90% of people lived in extreme poverty, 45% of children died before their fifth birthday, and there weren't any modern amenities. The main difference between then and now is technology. We have machines and knowledge that they didn't have back then.
Another comparison is Nogales, Arizona versus Nogales, Sonora:
The city of Nogales is cut in half by a fence. If you stand by it and look north, you'll see Nogales, Arizona, located in Santa Cruz County. The income of the average household there is about $30,000 a year. Most teenagers are in school, and the majority of the adults are high school graduates... the population is relatively healthy, with high life expectancy by global standards.
Life south of the fence, just a few feet away, is rather different. While the residents of Nogales, Sonora, live in a relatively prosperous part of Mexico, the income of the average household there is about one-third that in Nogales, Arizona. Most adults in Nogales, Sonora, do not have a high school degree, and many teenagers are not in school. Mothers have to worry about high rates of infant mortality... crime is high, and opening a business is a risky activity. Not only do you risk robbery, but getting all the permissions and greasing all the palms just to open is no easy endeavor.
Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson
Why is Nogales, Arizona so much better off than Nogales, Sonora? The answer is institutions. South of the border, the incentive is to extract wealth instead of creating it. So ambitious people become corrupt politicians and gang leaders instead of wealth-producing industrialists. And less gets produced.
So if you care about increasing humanity's prosperity, don't worry about the people. Today's people are no more great or virtuous than they were 200 years ago. The babies don't pop out any different in Nogales than they do in Nogales. All that matters is having the technology to produce useful things and the institutions to incentivize their production.