Unidirectionality of progress as a pipe dream.

The conventional perception of progress is largely optimistic and full of hope. Technological growth plays an essential role in such a perception. However, this frame of reference proceeds from a condensed understanding of progress that is realistically at variance with the facts.

It is generally accepted that tomorrow should be better than yesterday as we seem to be only moving in a forward direction. Goose-quill is a relic of the past, typewriters are only found in museums while the internet is perceived as coffin nail for our dark uncivilized past that creates the impression of humanity placing itself at such a height that there is no chance of dropping below from now on.

However, it turns out that civilization is not unfailingly permanent and progress is complexly discontinuous. The peculiar relationship between culture and progress can awake us to rather disturbing facts.

This narrative logic is compliant with the famous Huntington/Fukuyama debate that has been around for decades. Among other matters, Huntington indicated that technological progress is nonparallel to the progress of human relations or politics.

It means that while we may enjoy booking a presidential suite in a 5 star hotel on Mars, this would not entail that global fall of the totalitarian regimes took place, nor does it necessarily imply that rule of law spread to the most distant corners of our world and violence no longer exists.

Progress is multifaceted. Despite being composed of several threads, there is no reason for their uniform development. In fact, they can go in opposing or different directions at the same time. Worldwide transition to electric vehicles can perfectly coexist within tyrannical framework where human relationships deteriorate to medieval quality.

Culture defines how people are treating each other, identity and self-image outshine better cars, tech, clothes or services that prospering economies can offer.

The world has come to an unprecedented standard of well-being, hundreds of millions are taking advantage of tech that their ancestors have never seen before. But as it turns out, all these people value their identity a great deal more when shaping governments, societies, hierarchies, friendships and families.

Society’s reliable tomorrow cannot be made a function of tools we create and the level of sophistication they can boast. Rather, it belongs to a platitude of its own irrelevant to technology.

P.S. An old anecdote from the Cold War seems fitting

Two chimps are sitting on a tree and casually lumbering an atomic bomb. One chimp decides to bring an important matter to attention and says to the other: «What if it blows up? ». The other one responds with saying «No big deal…I have another one just in case»….