If you’re following me but don’t yet receive these essays by email, you’re missing most of them. Substack doesn’t email articles to followers—only to subscribers. You can get every new essay free in your inbox by subscribing 👉:
What is Progress?
Before we can study progress, we must first define it. In my book series, I use the following working definition of progress:
“the sustained improvement in the material standard of living of a large group of people over a long period of time.”
In particular, I focus on changes to the standard of living that are rapid enough and sustained enough that one person could notice positive changes within their lifetime. You can read more on why I believe this is the most useful definition of progress.
A caveat
To be clear, I am not trying to convince you or anyone else outside the Progress Studies field of inquiry to stop using all other meanings of the word “progress.” That would be foolish. Terminology evolves and not always in optimal ways.
I am arguing that to study progress systematically, we must:
Be able measure it across history and the entire globe,
So we can understand why it varies across time and space, and then
Identify systematic patterns in that variation, and then
Develop theories that explain that variation.
Test those theories against the actual historical record, so we can
Derive policies and practices for keeping it going, we need a very clear and useful definition.
None of the above is possible without a very clear, concise, and useful definition. So far, I have not heard a better definition.
Evidence for the existence of progress
Material progress is a fact. I am sorry if you do not believe it, but that is just how it is (until someone can prove me wrong).
By any of dozens of metrics, we are better off materially than we have ever been in our history. If you do not believe me, then look at the metrics of economic growth, human development, freedom, slavery, poverty, agricultural production, literacy, diet, famines, sanitation, drinking water, life expectancy, neonatal mortality, disease, education, access to electricity, housing, and violence (to name just a few), and in virtually every nation.
And there are plenty more in my book.
What Progress Is Not About
Just so we avoid confusion, I want to make sure that everyone understands what my concept of progress is not about:
A lack of bad events
A lack of problems
What happened today, this week, this month, or this year (one needs to focus on decades and centuries)
The United States and Western Europe (it is about the entire world)
The future (it is about the present and the past)
Every single nation, sub-national group, and individual enjoying the benefits of progress (there are always exceptions)
The environment (it is about humans)
Equality or Inequality
Utopia
Consumerism
Happiness (although I have given strong evidence that progress does lead to greater happiness)
Want to learn more?
My Substack column includes hundreds of articles on the topic of human material progress. Below are what I believe are the most important in my recommended reading order:
More on defining progress
My series of posts on Progress Studies (how we can systematically study progress)
How Progress Works in our daily lives.
My series of posts on how Progress spread across the globe.
Policy reform proposals to promote:
Upward Mobility for the poor and working class in wealthy nations
See many more related topics on my Substack home page
Ah yes, say some, material progress is all very well, but what really matters is social progress. To which my reply is, when they say that progress is measured by the upliftment of the disadvantaged, for example women, ethnicities, and various minority groups, I say that they are calling for those persons to enjoy the same standard of material wealth as those perceived to be advantaged.
Material wealth is easily measured. Non-material wealth is often too subjective to be measured.
Of course, I'm sure you agree, there is an interaction between the environment and mateiral improvment.