It will be contended in this course that these trends are neither accidental nor inevitable. Human progress is not historically preordained, as idealists would have us believe. Nor are these ills inherent in the human condition, as cynics would have it. In truth human beings are capable of both far greater achievements and far more appalling failures than most of us realize. Furthermore, human action occurs in a specific environment—consisting not just of economic or political conditions, but especially of ideas. Since people act based on their ideas (even when they exercise free will), their deeds and misdeeds tend to reflect the ideas prevalent in their culture.     Continue...