Progress and Progressions - an Update

Awhile back I wrote a post, Progressions. . ., detailing three progressions that our world was experiencing. Actually that was back in 2011, not that long ago. Basically I pointed to three general trends and pointed to how culture and technology are intertwined and evolve based upon that relationship. Whether it is low-brow entertainment such as the Three Stooges, Jackass, and today Youtube, to recruiters moving from the New York Times to Monster and LinkedIn. Our culture and our technology do evolve, and there is an interaction between the two.

Another theme that I stressed or pushed upon in that post is that progressions are are not progress. And in the same breath they are more of an evolution. Which brings me to another topic that has haunted me for a long while: what is progress or Progress with a capital "P"?

Progress as I speak about it here is something expected in the world. It is a view of world as constantly improving. Whether you look at social issues, the economy, or technology there is a certain view that things are changing for the better and that is Progress. There is also the related and more limited version where only science and technology progress but not the social world. Here we continue to see the anticipated innovation in technology but not in regard to poverty and the economy.

Let me make one more point on what I mean by progress here. When I apply this concept I am not referring to a specific situation that happened to improve. Rather, I am saying it was inevitable that the specific situation and all situations will improve. In short there is or was a certain faith in Progress. It is Progress as the general improvement of life as the months and years unfold to which we are pointing to.

Going back to my original post, highlighting three cultural progressions, I doubt they involve this Progress with a capital "P" which I reference above. That said there is a certain progression that can be associated with the word Progress itself involving both "Progress with a capital P" and progress as a progression or evolution. It has a certain history or evolution.

To be continued. . .