AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NOTION OF PROGRESS

What is progress ? What does Progress mean ?

Progress, basically, is improvement. Usually the word is used in reference to either scientific advances or the modernization of society, but it can also refer to improvements in quality of life and understanding.

The Evolution of Human Thought

The evolution of human thought over time is viewed as fueling overall improvements of the human condition. For example, the development and proliferation of the idea of universal human rights over past few centuries can be described as contributing to the overall advancement of humanity. Similarly, the development of free market and democratic principles can be viewed as leading to the widespread political and economic empowerment of the masses.

 Technological Innovation

Improvements in technology over time can also be viewed as contributing to the advancement of humankind throughout history. For instance, early innovations in agriculture are described as leading to the end of hunting and gathering and the development of fixed communities. Agriculture provided populations with ample food and more free time for developing new trades and ways of life. More recently, rapid advancements in technology since the start of the Industrial Revolution are widely understood to have led to marked improvements in average income, education, health and life expectancy, particularly in the developed world.

 Measuring Progress

Many measurements of progress focus on specific problems. For instance, it is possible to measure progress in the fight against poverty by measuring changes in income over time.

Similarly, it is possible to measure progress in the effort to combat AIDs by taking note of advances in the medical field.

Other approaches take a broader view to defining progress, focusing on the advancement of humankind over all of history, specific time periods, or within certain societies. For example, the empowerment of women and minority groups, particularly African Americans, is often pointed to as signs of progress in American society.

 Impacts of the Idea of Progress

The idea of progress has had and continues to have a major impact on humankind. We can see it at work today in international initiatives such as the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which aims to achieve such ambitious goals as cutting in half the proportion of people living in hunger worldwide by 2015.

 The election of Barack Obama is often described as a culmination of the progress achieved by African Americans within the United States. Similarly, the progressive movement is defined by a belief that vast improvements can be made in a number of areas of American society, including the economy, energy, the environment, healthcare and foreign policy. Its rhetoric often highlights to the America’s history of economic, political and technological achievements as evidence that future progress is possible.

 Differing Views of Progress

Views about progress vary markedly among groups with different beliefs. For instance, communist thought defined progress as the inevitable shifting of power over society from a small group of elites to the working class.

Many communist thinkers believed progress could only be achieved through violent revolution.

On the other hand, capitalist thought would define progress as the establishment of a mutually beneficial relationship between workers and entrepreneurs, with each receiving just compensation for contributing their time and labor.

Muslim extremists strongly disagree with those who see economic globalization as contributing to progress by proliferating the economic models and culture of Western world.
http://www.ehow.com/about_5098516_idea-progress.html#ixzz2snJbgGbx

L’IDEE DE PROGRES

Considéré comme outil principal d’orientation dans la complexité du monde, le concept de progrès a accompagné les grands moments de l’histoire. Il traverse et bouscule les héritages et les traditions, entraînant une grande variété de processus d’évolution ainsi que des résistances face au changement.

Relayé par un développement des technologies de pointe, une accélération des avancées scientifiques et techniques, le culte de la nouveauté et du progrès fait l’objet, ces dernières décennies, d’une prise de conscience accrue des conséquences possibles qui en résultent.
À partir de documents authentiques de toute nature, contemporains ou antérieurs, il convient de trouver  des éléments de contextualisation qui permettent d’établir des relations pour mieux appréhender les enjeux relatifs à l’idée de progrès.
Cette notion permet notamment d’aborder  plusieurs idées-force :

-En quoi les technologies nouvelles constituent des avancées (conditions de vie) notamment en ce qui concerne le télétravail.

Les effets du progrès sur le fonctionnement des sociétés (nouvelles libertés, nouvelles contraintes et nouvelles aliénations.

L’éthique du progrès et la responsabilité ;

Textes (Manuel Password English) :

Telecommute Nation  (P116)

Economic opportunities  (p.118)

Different relationships (p.120)

Does it suit everyone?  (p122)

The impact of technology on daily life (p.56)

Un autre axe de notre analyse vise à réfléchir sur ce à quoi ressemblerait la vie sans technologie!

Textes :

Student unplug. p.56

What if petrol disappeared? p.55