I definitely think this is a general cultural zeitgeist thing. The progressive thing used to be the positivist “science triumphs over all, humanity rises over petty differences, leaves childish things like religions, nations and races behind and achieves its full potential”. But then people have grown sceptical of all grand narratives, seeing them as inherently poisoned because if you worry about grand things you are more inclined to disregard the small ones. Politics built around reclamation of personal identity, community, tradition as forms of resistance against the rising tide of globalising capitalism have taken over the left. Suddenly being an atheist was not cool any more, it was arrogant and possibly somewhat racist. And wanting to colonise space reeked of white man’s burden even if there probably aren’t many indigenous people to displace up there. So everything moved inwards, and the writers followed that trend.
I definitely think this is a general cultural zeitgeist thing. The progressive thing used to be the positivist “science triumphs over all, humanity rises over petty differences, leaves childish things like religions, nations and races behind and achieves its full potential”. But then people have grown sceptical of all grand narratives, seeing them as inherently poisoned because if you worry about grand things you are more inclined to disregard the small ones. Politics built around reclamation of personal identity, community, tradition as forms of resistance against the rising tide of globalising capitalism have taken over the left. Suddenly being an atheist was not cool any more, it was arrogant and possibly somewhat racist. And wanting to colonise space reeked of white man’s burden even if there probably aren’t many indigenous people to displace up there. So everything moved inwards, and the writers followed that trend.