The Blackening of the Future.

In the late nineteenth century two separate viewpoints prevailed.  On one side were those who maintained that Europe had reached an age of degeneration and that technological progress would bring about the ultimate decline and destruction of humanity.  On the alternative side were those who saw a new era of progress about to be unleashed.  Many predicted the rise of airplanes and even of space travel, as well as genetic engineering, and radical life extension.  However, these optimists foresaw various things which never materialized such as the furtherance of the human race on other worlds.  With the modern decline of science we may be witnessing a new era in which the early beliefs become manifest and a gradual decline in human accomplishment and Western civilization.