In an earlier version of this book I attempted to skip any philosophical exposition and jump right into what I think is happening in the world today. While that may make for more gripping reading, it resulted in the verbal equivalent of building a skyscraper without a foundation: Rapid initial progress followed by total collapse.
So this time, here are several chapters explaining why I am optimistic about eventual progress even though I am pessimistic about our present course. As part of this my goal is to establish a firm foundation for a vision of the future grounded in Humanism. Much of my thinking about this has been deeply influenced by the writing of David Deutsch in particular in his book “The Beginning of Infinity.”