I feel western society as a whole doesn't really have a vision of the future since the end of the Cold War. Beating the Soviets in technology and science was both a short and long term goal. But since that's no longer a concern, society isn't really looking forward with any goals other than having the same but with less pollution. (Which actually might not be a bad goal.)
Fantasy action in space remains a somewhat popular genre, but it's not about exploring possible futures we might one day live in.