ABSTRACT
In the nineteenth century men took progress for granted, and, especially after people had begun to believe in evolution, it was thought to be a law of nature that the future must be better than the past. In this cheerful frame of mind people did not trouble to think of distant ages. Even Utopias were expected to be realised in a century or two. Since 1914 this optimism has grown less sure of itself, and during the present depression it has yielded to pessimism in the minds of very many.
