Description
THOUGHT IS BORN OF FAILURE. Only when action fails to satis- fy human needs is there ground for thought. To devote atten- tion to any problem is to confess a lack of adjustment which we must stop to consider. And the greater the failure the more searching is the kind of thought which is necessary.
At no previous period in human history has there been such widespread examination of the nature of man and his present situation. This is partly because the race has become more self- conscious than ever before, more aware of its own failures, and partly because it faces problems which are unprecedented both in gravity and extent. The blunt fact is that the species must now think harder and better than ever before if civilization is to be saved from progressive decline. The situation calls for a unique effort of courageous, realistic, and imaginative thought. What is necessary, as we shall see, is better thought about nature as a whole, and in particular about human beings and the kind of society they require.
The entire human race now for the first time faces a single collective challenge. During the next few decades it must de- cide what kind of man and community is to survive on this planet. In the past, regional civilizations have come and gone, but now we are all involved together and share a common future.
