Every country faces a plurality of challenges and competing wishes for the future. Ideally, we would all like to address everything. But scarce resources mean that, in real life, we have to prioritize.
Saying that some things must come first is controversial because it is the same as saying that many things will not come first. That is why politicians often shy away from explicitly prioritizing some goals over others, and would rather make it seem like they can do everything.
On a global scale, this approach has been cemented in the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs). All countries have signed on to these commitments to achieve almost every good thing imaginable by 2030.