Then and now - the cardinal problem of life

For the wise men of old, the cardinal problem of human life was how to conform the soul to objective reality, and the solution was wisdom, self-discipline and virtue. For the modern, the cardinal problem is how to conform reality to the wishes of man, and the solution is a technique.

C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man

Unfortunately, this is even truer now than when it was written in 1943, over 80 years ago.