Progress: Fluke or trend?

Jason Crawford · 12 Sept 2020 · rootsofprogress.org ↗

3 korrents from this piece

Jason Crawford did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this piece, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

Our reading
Two centuries of progress were a trend with real causes rather than a fluke, and can continue far into the future.

Their wordsA foundational conviction of this project is that progress is a trend with definite, substantive causes, and that it can continue far, far into the future.

Interesting
Our reading
Progress is not driven mainly by material resources, so running out of them is not what would stop it.

Their wordsI don’t think progress is primarily driven by material resources.

Interesting
Our reading
Progress is not natural or automatic: it happens only while people believe it is possible and desirable, and it can stop.

Their wordsProgress isn’t natural; we make it happen through choice and effort, and we only do so when we believe it is possible and desirable.

Interesting