These essays were written over a period of two years, but they all deal with the same theme: can Western Civilization, and Mankind for that matter, survive? And if we do, will it be worth the effort?
The view that we are doomed has taken over a large part of the American intellectual community, and has been passed on to a generation of students. If accepted, it is a profound change in the traditional philosophy of the West.
According to FUTURE SHOCK, we are afraid of our future. It remains to ask—should we be? There is another view: that we can not only survive, but survive with style.
I am indebted to my editor, Jim Baen, for the title of this section and the lead column, as well as for his editorial assistance both during and after these were written.