The world is in crisis, a loss of confidence in institutions or humanitarian values once thought widely shared that has confused those who want to emphasize global progress against poverty and inequity. As one of the thousand or so attendees at the Skoll World Forum in lovely old Oxford last week, I went as a journalist hoping to gain some reassurance that the emphasis on progress was justified – that there was consensus on the cause of this turmoil, and on the best strategies for moving forward out of crisis.