The only things real in this universe were the quantifiable, and the knowledge of science was certain and absolute. People used scientific knowledge to carry out the purpose of science and to dominate and control nature. It's us against the environment. It's us against other men. We can have unilateral control over the environment and must strive for that control.
Economic determinism is common sense.
Technology will do it for us. The industrial revolution began in approximately 1750 in England and continued unencumbered until the mid-twentieth century when the transition to a new era began. Perhaps it was the discovery of the Americas, and the natural resources they provided. Possibly it was the deep systemic shifts and changes in thought itself, almost imperceptible, begun with the start of the agricultural revolution. Maybe it was the growth of cities begun in the agricultural revolution.