From the original 1944 edition:
The time of Worlds Beginning is twenty years following the end of World War II. The problems of peace are no longer vague and theoretical problems: here, as real as if it were taking place before our eyes, is what might happen within another score of years. Gigantic technical advances in a shrinking world bring the American economy to a virtual standstill. Yet in the crisis lies the seed of its magnificent solution.
Worlds Beginning is a story about the future, but it is in no sense a prophecy. It concerns a dream of a better world, but it isn't a blueprint for that better world. Its theme is that American democracy, resourceful, individual and strong, need only face its problems in order to solve them.