At the beginning of the twentieth century it seemed to many that human progress was an inexorable force. Economic prosperity had increased almost beyond imagination. Science and technology were realizing new undreamed-of comforts and possibilities, while the scourge of war seemed to have given way to an era of trade and international friendship. But this optimism was soon quashed. First came two world wars, a world-wide Great Depression, Communist and Nazi regimes, and holocausts and purges on a scale unprecedented in human history. More recently Americans have witnessed: an ever larger and more intrusive federal bureaucracy; crushing (if often hidden) taxes, rampant crime, violence, illiteracy, drug addiction, and terrorism; divisions and animosity based on race, class, age, gender, and life style; cynicism and thirst for scandal; a proliferation of lawsuits and litigation; and a decline of representative government.     Continue...