The culture of progress

For 99% of human history, our default culture has been static. Most people never saw any real improvements in their lives. And if nothing can improve, why even try?

Out of nowhere, the Ancient Greeks developed a vibrant tradition of open-mindedness and comfort with criticism. From the Agora to the Academy, intellectual, social, scientific, and technological progress was fueled by a willingness to try new things. To challenge foundational beliefs, to debate and deconstruct conventional wisdom, and to see inquiry itself as a virtue. They understood, intuitively, that to allow an idea to be rigorously tested was the surest way to strengthen it, or replace it with a better one.

Sadly, that spark died out for a long time. Note that the Dark Ages happened after the time of Socrates. Why did this happen?

We live in an exceptional time period – the Enlightenment, in an exceptional place – the United States. Here, in the right places, welcoming criticism and trying new things lives on. Seeing areas of our own lives we wish to improve is an important and positive form of self-criticism that many people have used with great success. And the notion that you can do that while contributing to humanity is more widespread and effective here than anywhere ever before, by a long shot. We can apply creativity and effort to solve our problems, and we enjoy a standard of living that people even 50 years ago would find unfathomable.

Policies may help or hinder, but our spark does not come from policy. It is essential to our culture. We do not know exactly how this culture is formed or maintained, but it is there. We have something exceptional. And if we lose it, it will be because of something we did. In particular, it will be because we succumbed to pessimism. Many people already have.

I use a different definition of pessimism than most. I don’t mean a gloomy outlook. I am talking about a harmful misconception: An anti-progress attitude rooted in the false belief that there are insurmountable limits to human knowledge and problem-solving. Fear of unknown outcomes. Attachment to existing systems. Growth can be achieved but too much is unpalatable. Most areas of study are unattainable to non-experts. Locked in to a certain idea of what the future must look like. A hyper-conservative conviction that one’s own beliefs are aligned with a predetermined future, “the right side of history”.

The people of Ancient Greece did not forsee the ensuing Dark Ages. They would have been surprised to know such dark times were on the horizon. And the people of the late Roman Empire thought they were doing the right thing to preserve their culture (even though it had the opposite effect).

For our species to survive in the universe, we will need to make enough social, political, scientific, and technological progress to solve big unforeseen problems of our own future. My great fear is that the spark which drives this innovation will burn out, as it has before several times in history.

If it does, it will be our fault. It is our responsibility to keep it going.

Sources and other reading

David Deutsch for his definition of pessimism

https://blog.rootsofprogress.org/why-pessimism-sounds-smart