Is Progress Possible? View in browser
Is Progress Possible?

     The idea life could get better strikes some as naïve. It’s easy to lose hope in a pandemic and political strife.


Pessimists

     Some people point to the pandemic, wars, ecological disasters, political elections, racial injustice, and more that’s wrong in the world. To them, it’s absurd to think things could get better. The world seems to get worse.

     Let’s call these people “pessimists.”

     Pessimists admit we can make progress of a certain sort. Humans might produce more commodities, for instance. Computer complexity is increasing and seems likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Other technologies seem to advance, and we have access to more information than ever.

     But pessimists say increases in commodities, computers, technology, or information don’t indicate genuine progress. What we need is an increase in our quality of life. 

     I think that’s right.

     Commodities we thought would make life better often make it worse. What we really want is a proliferation of well-being. That would be authentic progress.

     The pessimists aren’t seeing signs of moral progress.


Optimists

     Other people believe progress is inevitable. Let’s call them the “optimists.”

...

     For the remainder of this essay, click here. 

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Thomas Jay Oord

tjoord@nnu.edu  --  @thomasjayoord  --  http://thomasjayoord.com

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