The Death of Progress

How we have stopped believing in the future.

Many people instinctively feel that the future is uncertain and our children might not be as well off as ourselves. We all experience this worry about the state of our world. A Gallup Poll conducted in 2017 concluded that the world is ‘sad, worried, stressed and in pain’ Most negative scores were recorded in countries that had experienced conflict and displacement, but the overall trend was global, with three out of four Americans experiencing some form of anxiety.

Is this what progress has given us? By destroying our planet and ecosystem, are we actually destroying ourselves? Is there a cause we can rally around within the moral wasteland of consumerism ? While we worry, citadels of privilege are being fortified and increasingly placed out of reach. Should we storm them, so we can start rebuilding? Are we ready for serious upheaval? Maybe we need it. Perhaps the future is worth fighting for, even if we have to gamble.

As I get older, I ponder my place in the grand scheme of things. I sort of have to. I want to understand my parents and my children in relation to myself and my generation. Where do we all stand in history and where does my own anxiety about the future come from.

Our Parents

My parents were baby-boomers, born in 1950. They grew up in the shadow of World War Two, their parents always talking about the war and the deprivation it had wrought. As white, middle-class people from educated backgrounds, the world was at their feet as they progressed into adulthood, — full employment, rising standards of living, educational opportunities and governments founded on the premise they would look after their citizens, from cradle to grave. Their generation was to become the richest in the history of humankind. Their experiences taught them that the world could be made, shaped and formed; gradual improvements would lead to an ever better world.

This affected their attitudes, their views on life. Almost naturally, they transformed into political moderates, holding the ‘center ground,’ always compromising to accommodate their steady march to progress. By now, they have been at the helm for a few decades; leading countries, companies, educational institutions and media outlets…