Intellectual peak was earlier, much earlier. William Shakespeare to Isaac Newton (the peak) to Thomas Paine. Sloped downward ever since. 1930 to 1980 is a period of often tolerable wreckage before an eventual bottoming out or collapse. This period (1930 to 1980) included Hitler and WW2, Korean War, Vietnam, The Cold War and so much more rotten stuff. If anybody considers that a golden age, they weren't paying attention.