Yes, it is something we have the potential to do, but I see scan't evidence of much progress in that direction. And what's missing in our progress is not the power of reason or advanced technology -- it is the absence of empathy, of humility, and of a type of intelligence that is not content to express itself merely in symbol manipulation.
[WS:] I would take exception to the first sentence. There has been much progress in the general level of empathy - as evidenced inter alia by the treatment of criminals then and now. We do not burn them at stake, quarter or draw them anymore, nor do we have public executions and those countries that do, try to carry them in a "humane" way (cf. Michel Foucault, _Discipline and Punish_). Ditto for the treatment of animals - as evidenced by the proliferation of animal rights groups - virtually unheard of 100+ years ago. Nor do we have public torture of animals (such as bull- dog- or cock fights) anymore - at least in the more civilized regions of the world.
I would go as far as saying that the level of empathy and rationality in society is, for a large part, proportional to per capita GDP. That suggests quite a bit of a progress, albeit not as fast as most of us here would want to see.
However, I pretty much concur with the second sentence - our concept of rationality has been too much shaped by economics suffering from Asperger's Syndrome. What we need is a concept of rationality and intelligence that involves empathy, but some take steps in that direction http://www.danielgoleman.info/blog/biography.
Wojtek