4 votes

On progress and historical change

1 comment

  1. skybrian
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    From the article: [...] (Much has changed since this blog post was written. There's a little bit that's dated, but the lessons of history seem about the same.)

    From the article:

    Is progress inevitable? Is it natural? Is it fragile? Is it possible? Is it a problematic concept in the first place? Many people are reexamining these kinds of questions as 2016 draws to a close, so I thought this would be a good moment to share the sort-of “zoomed out” discussions the subject that historians like myself are always having.

    [...]

    Is it still blowing up in our faces?
    Yes.
    Is it going to keep blowing up in our faces, over and over?
    Yes.
    Is it going to blow up so much, sometimes, that it doesn’t seem like it’s actually any better?
    Yes.
    Is that still progress?
    Yes.
    Why?

    (Much has changed since this blog post was written. There's a little bit that's dated, but the lessons of history seem about the same.)

    1 vote