1950s: The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union dominates the political landscape of the world.

Today: The world is no longer divided into two competing superpowers. The United States is generally considered to be the sole superpower, but there are other regional centers of power, such as the countries that comprise the European Union, as well as Japan, Russia, and China.

1950s: There is a wide expectation in the industrialized world that machines and robots will soon take over many of the tasks now performed by humans. This is expected to result in greater leisure. Toynbee believes this may mean that people will spend more of their time participating in religious practices.

Today: The average American works more hours than his or her counterpart did a generation ago. Mechanization has not resulted in more leisure although technology has produced a...