Myself, I would say that
human kind has always been improving in
subtle, little ways. One could give a long list of
inventions, but inventions have never been the
cause of the
progress of
civilization, instead being a
result. There are a number of
things that we haven't done (an
infinite number, in fact) but meanwhile there are
thousands of things we have, many of which are very
impressive. We may be bound to our immediate
spacial area, but only because we now see the phrase "immediate special area" as meaning "our
planet" instead of "our
continent," "our
nation" or "our
village." We haven't been introduced to
representatives of other advanced
lifeforms, but more and more have suddenly recognized the
equality of others of our own species:
slavery didn't really end all that long ago. We haven't found a cure for
cancer or
AIDS, but we have wiped out
bubonic plague and
smallpox, all but eradicated
polio,
measles and
mumps.
Nanobots are too
experimental to be considered a
reality, but how long ago were
computers themselves considered
science-fiction, and no one had even dreamed of
microscopic robots?
Teachers are paid less than
garbagemen because... well, I'm not going to pretend to know all the answers here. I do know that more people would rather
teach than pick up
garbage for a living.
While it is true forests are shrinking and there are disturbing things happening over Antarctica, that there are measurable ways in which the world has, physically, become worse for our descendents, socially, the world has never been a better place. People are generally healthier, happier, and more free now than at any previous point in history. There are certainly some people in extreme straits, there are indeed dangers to be faced, and there is much progress yet to be made, perhaps more than humanity has made during its entire previous existence, but we have still come quite a long way. Maybe there will always be progress to be made, if not in technology then in plenty of other things.
The Monolith in 2001 transformed apes into creatures so above their previous state, that, beforehand, they could not have comprehended the difference. There may indeed be a state of being beyond our current level of enlightenment. If there is, I do not know what that may be. If it happens, those of us to whom it does not happen will probably never notice.
That brings me to wonder.... maybe, it has already happened.