Some people may say that progress happens naturally so there is no need to worry about it or trying to facilitate it. In fact, I would argue that majority of people in Western countries expect progress to continue and flourish. They probably can not even imagine that there may be regress.
Thanks for the comment. I agree. That is both a good thing and a bad thing.
I think that people who take progress for granted are more likely to take part in society and help keep progress going in their day-to-day lives. Unfortunately, those same people are often oblivious to the factors that undermine progress today and can potentially ruin it in the near future.
I will write more on this in the future, but here is an example:
Hello Michael, very good thoughts about progress and wealth today. I would like to add :the ability to store surplus wealth (energy) to your list.
If my activities are successful, I should have some surplus of products to save.
So if I chop down trees and store the wood for fuel, I have surplus to barter with.
Or if I catch mote fish than I can eat, I can trade the rest for milk or such.
Thus I will eventually have extra time to invent easier was of obtaining more BTUs than I consume. If we look at all manufactured items as BTUs we can look at a house and say wow look at how many man hrs(BTUs) that took to build.
This is not the case in communism. The cults I lived on as a young adult had two kinds of people the producers of goods and the insiders that consumed goods. Allway,the producers were lower than the consumer class.
They had prettier femals,and more privileges than the builders and farmers. To complain about this, would quickly cost you in status, and a bed mate. So we worker quickly conformed.
If workers had more surplus than they needed,those wre giave back to the community elders so the coming could expand. I usually would stay in line to maintain my status,and bedmate privileges.
Soon enough I'd prefer freedom to save my surplus wealth and use it for my own benefit, that I'd wind up leaving and go out on my own. I hope this helps with your studies.
I don't necessarily disagree with you, but I am trying to keep this list to phrases that I am confident that 80% of Progress researchers would agree with and 100% would agree with 80% of the listed phrases.
I want to be clear about differentiating between my theory on human material progress and what others within the field believe now. They are not the same.
Your point about being able to store surplus wealth being critical to progress makes sense. Let me think about how it fits in.
"Progress is not utopia or an absence of problems. Progress is also entirely compatible with bad events. Identifying exceptions to the trend does not disprove the trend."
I like the term “protopia” because it straddles a middle ground between utopia and dystopia. A protopia is a society that is always working to progress itself and solve problems.
Some people may say that progress happens naturally so there is no need to worry about it or trying to facilitate it. In fact, I would argue that majority of people in Western countries expect progress to continue and flourish. They probably can not even imagine that there may be regress.
Thanks for the comment. I agree. That is both a good thing and a bad thing.
I think that people who take progress for granted are more likely to take part in society and help keep progress going in their day-to-day lives. Unfortunately, those same people are often oblivious to the factors that undermine progress today and can potentially ruin it in the near future.
I will write more on this in the future, but here is an example:
https://frompovertytoprogress.substack.com/p/why-ideologies-threaten-progress-91c
Unfortunately another correlate under number 7: lower fertility
Yes, it is going to be interesting to see what happens in the long run as populations decline.
Will it undermine material progress?
Will it increase progress per capita?
Will it have no effect?
Will it lead to the extinction of humanity?
I honestly have no idea…
Hello Michael, very good thoughts about progress and wealth today. I would like to add :the ability to store surplus wealth (energy) to your list.
If my activities are successful, I should have some surplus of products to save.
So if I chop down trees and store the wood for fuel, I have surplus to barter with.
Or if I catch mote fish than I can eat, I can trade the rest for milk or such.
Thus I will eventually have extra time to invent easier was of obtaining more BTUs than I consume. If we look at all manufactured items as BTUs we can look at a house and say wow look at how many man hrs(BTUs) that took to build.
This is not the case in communism. The cults I lived on as a young adult had two kinds of people the producers of goods and the insiders that consumed goods. Allway,the producers were lower than the consumer class.
They had prettier femals,and more privileges than the builders and farmers. To complain about this, would quickly cost you in status, and a bed mate. So we worker quickly conformed.
If workers had more surplus than they needed,those wre giave back to the community elders so the coming could expand. I usually would stay in line to maintain my status,and bedmate privileges.
Soon enough I'd prefer freedom to save my surplus wealth and use it for my own benefit, that I'd wind up leaving and go out on my own. I hope this helps with your studies.
Thanks for the comment.
I don't necessarily disagree with you, but I am trying to keep this list to phrases that I am confident that 80% of Progress researchers would agree with and 100% would agree with 80% of the listed phrases.
I want to be clear about differentiating between my theory on human material progress and what others within the field believe now. They are not the same.
Your point about being able to store surplus wealth being critical to progress makes sense. Let me think about how it fits in.
"Progress is not utopia or an absence of problems. Progress is also entirely compatible with bad events. Identifying exceptions to the trend does not disprove the trend."
I like the term “protopia” because it straddles a middle ground between utopia and dystopia. A protopia is a society that is always working to progress itself and solve problems.
Sure. I prefer to not invent words or use words that an average person does not already know. I think it undermines communication.
By your definition, it is most societies today. I just say “a society that is experiencing progress.”