Has the American spirit of optimism disappeared? This original and provocative book provides a penetrating analysis of two developments which are revolutionizing late 20th century America. The decline of the American family and a waning faith in the Idea of Progress are in sharp contrast to our historic past. Richard T. Gill links these two significant developments by examining our changing attitudes to the future. Americans today increasingly focus on the short term instead of the long view, and the losers in this myopic process are both the family, which is responsible for rearing the future generation, and the Idea of Progress, which once guaranteed that future generations would enjoy increasingly happy and productive lives. Posterity Lost provides a thought-provoking examination of these disturbing developments and offers some hopeful suggestions for their reversal.