Science and Public Policy: Promises and Constraints 65 



dangers of global war. The pessimist who wishes to use the 

 past to judge the future has a right to claim that the future of 

 a society founded on science-based technology is hopelessly 

 booby-trapped. The one great hope we can have is that as the 

 common peril becomes more and more obvious to the peoples 

 of the world, fear based on wisdom will generate the critical 

 degree of restraint. Our species stands near the crest of a 

 great watershed. The generation now being born will probably 

 know in its span of life whether we have the restraint to 

 continue the advance of mankind indefinitely into the future. 



