Noah's case here is against the people who indicate global poverty as a result of free markets.
Hickel, an anthropologist by training, has two major theses about the world:
He believes that global poverty reduction is a myth, and He believes that degrowth is the best solution to environmental problems.
Noah thinks Hickel believes this to justify anti capitalism.
Acc to World bank data, at both 1.90$ and 5.50$ a day levels, poverty has fallen in the last few decades.
Noah thinks "all the countries that have been successful at reducing poverty have adopted a mixed approach — neither free-market dogma nor command economies, but hybrid affairs with large components of both activist government and private business."

Adjusted for the purchasing power in each country, 85% of the world population live on less than $30 per day - something considered to be poor in high income countries.
we know that poverty is not inevitable because poverty has declined very substantially in many countries. The population of Denmark was once as poor as the population of Ethiopia today, but since then poverty declined and living conditions improved: average incomes increased more than 25-fold , the child mortality rate declined from more than a quarter to less than half a percent – one of the lowest levels in the world – and Denmark is today one of the countries where people report to be most satisfied with their lives .