As we approach a new century, it's natural to consider how humanity has progressed over the past one hundred years. In some areas, we've certainly come a long way. In others, it might seem that little progress has been made. The Journal asked Richard A. Nenneman, former Editor in Chief of The Christian Science Monitor, to comment on the relationships of individuals and nations at this stage in history. Have we progressed? On the adjacent page, contributing editor Warren Bolon points to significant spiritual gains in the twentieth century.
While People Feel an air of excitement, or even privilege, about living at the turn of a millennium, it is much easier for the human mind to grasp the events of a century.
Measured against the world of 1900, today's world of technological triumph seems a marvel. But considering the violence and wars of this century, is it safe to assume that humankind has progressed at all? Francis Fukuyama, in his new book, The Great Disruption, reaches the conclusion that certain kinds of change, as in technology, are cumulative, while others, mainly the relationships of people to each other, have to be learned again and again under changing environments. He writes: "In the political and economic sphere history appears to be progressive and directional....In the social and moral sphere, however, history appears to be cyclical, with social order ebbing and flowing over the course of generations." Quoted in The Atlantic Monthly, May 1999, p. 80 .
