Old page wikitext, before the edit (old_wikitext) | '{{Merge|Idea of Progress|Sociocultural evolution|date=August 2010}}
{{Unreferenced|date=March 2010}}
{{Sociology}}
'''Social progress''' is the idea that societies can or do improve in terms of their social, political, and economic structures. The concept of social progress was introduced in the early 19th century [[social theory|social theories]], especially those of [[social evolutionists]] like [[Auguste Comte]] and [[Herbert Spencer]]. It was present in the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]]'s [[philosophy of history|philosophies of history]].
[[Image:American progress.JPG|thumb|225px| ''American Progress'', painting by John Gast, circa 1872.]]
==Enlightenment==
The big breakthrough to a new idea in Europe [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], when [[social commentary|social commentators]] and [[philosopher]]s began to realize that people ''themselves'' could change society and change their way of life. Instead of being made completely by gods, there was increasing room for the idea that people themselves ''made their own society'' - and not only that, as [[Giambattista Vico]] argued, ''because'' people practically made their own society, they could also fully comprehend it. This gave rise to new sciences, or [[proto-science]]s, which claimed to provide new scientific knowledge about what society was like, and how one may change it for the better.<ref>The following annotated reference list appears in [[J. B. Bury]]'s definitive study: ''The Idea of Progress,'' published in 1920 and available in full on the web:
<blockquote>The history of the idea of Progress has been treated briefly and partially by various French writers; e.g. Comte, ''Cours de philosophie positive'', vi. 321 sqq.; Buchez, ''Introduction a la science de l'histoire'', i. 99 sqq. (ed. 2, 1842); Javary, ''De l'idee de progres'' (1850); Rigault, ''Histoire de la querelle des Anciens et des Modernes'' (1856); Bouillier, ''Histoire de la philosophie cartesienne'' (1854); Caro, ''Problemes de la morale sociale'' (1876); Brunetiere, "La Formation de l'idee de progres", in ''Etudes critiques'', 5e serie. More recently M. Jules Delvaille has attempted to trace its history fully, down to the end of the eighteenth century. His ''Histoire de l'idee de progres'' (1910) is planned on a large scale; he is erudite and has read extensively. But his treatment is lacking in the power of discrimination. He strikes one as anxious to bring within his net, as ''theoriciens du progres'', as many distinguished thinkers as possible; and so, along with a great deal that is useful and relevant, we also find in his book much that is irrelevant. He has not clearly seen that the distinctive idea of Progress was not conceived in antiquity or in the Middle Ages, or even in the Renaissance period; and when he comes to modern times he fails to bring out clearly the decisive steps of its growth. And he does not seem to realize that a man might be "progressive" without believing in, or even thinking about, the doctrine of Progress. Leonardo da Vinci and Berkeley are examples. In my ''Ancient Greek Historians'' (1909) I dwelt on the modern origin of the idea (p. 253 sqq.). Recently Mr. R. H. Murray, in a learned appendix to his ''Erasmus and Luther'', has developed the thesis that Progress was not grasped in antiquity (though he makes an exception of Seneca), -- a welcome confirmation.</blockquote></ref>
In turn, this gave rise to [[progressivism|progressive]] opinion, in contrast with conservational opinion. The social conservationists were skeptical about [[panacea]]s for social ills. According to conservatives, attempts to radically remake society normally make things worse. [[Edmund Burke]] was the leading exponent of this, although later-day liberals like [[Friedrich Hayek|Hayek]] have espoused similar views. They argue that society changes organically and naturally, and that grand plans for the remaking of society, like the [[French Revolution]], [[National Socialism]] and [[Communism]] hurt society by removing the traditional constraints on the exercise of power.
===The notion of freedom===
This new idea implied a new concept of human [[Freedom (philosophy)|freedom]], i.e. people independently making their own lives using their own judgment. Initially, this concept appeared rather paradoxical; thus, [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]] wrote, "People are born free, but are everywhere in chains". A big breakthrough was the [[French Revolution]] of 1789, which inspired a lot of new philosophical thought. In the philosophy of the German thinker [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel|Hegel]], history radically recasts itself as the continual development of humanity towards ever-greater freedom, continually extending the limits of freedom. This philosophy is still religious and mystical however, insofar as Hegel sees history as culminating in the unity of God with the world, but at the same time, Hegel also affirmed and imputed a [[Logos]] or [[teleology]] to human history, and fully recognized that both evolutionary and revolutionary transformations took place in history. This was a hopeful philosophy, which in a [[Rationality|rational]] way sees real progress occurring in history.
It was possible to detect human advances, as well as human regressions to an earlier state. In Hegel’s view, if something existed, it was rational. If it passed out of existence, that was because it had become irrational. This contained a very important idea, however poorly expressed, namely that history was not a fluke of fate (a [[kismet]]) but that it could be ''rationally understood'', at least in principle.
==Marxism==
Marx developed a theory of [[historical materialism]]. He describes the mid-19th century condition in the [[Communist Manifesto]] as follows:
"The [[bourgeoisie]] cannot exist without constantly revolutionizing the instruments of production, and thereby the relations of production, and with them the whole relations of society. Conservation of the old modes of production in unaltered form, was, on the contrary, the first condition of existence for all earlier industrial classes. Constant revolutionizing of production, uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions, everlasting uncertainty, and agitation distinguish the bourgeois epoch from all earlier ones. All fixed, fast frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions, are swept away, all new-formed ones become antiquated before they can ossify. All that is solid melts into air, all which is holy is profaned, and man is at last compelled to face with sober senses his real condition of life and his relations with his kind."
The [[capitalism]] is thought by Marx as a process of continual change, in which the growth of markets dissolve all fixities in human life. This is an almost absolute rejection of the conservative ethos, according to which nothing really changes in human life. [[Marxism]] further states that capitalism, in its quest for higher profits and new markets, will inevitably sow the seeds of its own destruction. Marxists believe that, in the future, capitalism will be replaced by [[socialism]] and eventually [[communism]].
==Modernism==
{{cquote|The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.|4=[[George Bernard Shaw]]}}
Many advocates of capitalism such as [[Joseph Schumpeter|Schumpeter]] agreed with Marx's analysis of capitalism as a process of continual change through [[creative destruction]], but, unlike Marx, believed and hoped that capitalism could essentially go on forever.
Thus, by the beginning of the 20th century, two opposing schools of thought - Marxism and liberalism - believed in the possibility and the desirability of continual change and improvement. Marxists strongly opposed capitalism and the liberals strongly supported it, but the one concept they could both agree on was [[modernism]].
Modernism is a trend of thought which affirms the power of human beings to make, improve and reshape their society, with the aid of scientific knowledge, technology and practical experimentation. It reaches its extreme limits with the [[Russian Revolution of 1917|Russian Revolution]] and the third [[Chinese revolution]], inspired by Marxist ideology.
Here, people claimed such confidence in the ability to change their world for the better, which they thought that, in a relatively short time, largely illiterate peasants could begin to build a just, [[egalitarian]] and [[socialist]] order in a conscious way, armed with science and technology.
==Postmodernism==
{{cquote|"As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man.<br />
There are only four things certain since Social Progress began.<br />
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire."|4=[[Rudyard Kipling]]}}
In the [[postmodernist]] thought steadily gaining ground from the 1980s, the grandiose claims of the modernizers are steadily eroded, and the very concept of social progress is again questioned and scrutinized. In the new vision, radical modernizers like [[Stalin]] and [[Mao]] appear as [[totalitarian]] despots, whose vision of social progress is held to be totally deformed.
Postmodernists question the validity of 19th century and 20th century notions of progress - both on the capitalist and the Marxist side of the spectrum. They argue that both capitalism and Marxism over-emphasize technological achievements and material prosperity while ignoring the value of inner happiness and peace of mind.
Postmodernism posits that both dystopia and utopia are one and the same, over arching grand narratives with impossible conclusions. The romanticism of our past due to present discontent has set western society into a state of nostalgia where modernism is feared. Here the past is re-presented as solution to our current problems.
==Contemporary trends==
In the present time, this trend of thought about social progress leads to four main kinds of responses:
*[[neoconservatism (worldwide)|Neo-conservatism]], which returns to the old idea that nothing ever truly changes in the human condition, and the eternal values of [[religion]]. The ability of people to change anything other than themselves is vastly overrated. Here, the emphasis is on honoring a traditional way of life which proved itself as superior in the past, to which we should adhere.
*[[Neo-liberalism]], which affirms the power and potential of change, but only on a personal, individual level. The idea that the state should be an instrument of social betterment in society as a whole is totally rejected; only free choices made in markets can hold any promise of social progress.
*[[Socialism]], which argues that state direction of social progress could have very important positive results; at the simplest level, would be able to help the poor by taking from the rich. This leads to the defense of public services and assets, and the case for heavy regulation of market activity.
*Various strands of new [[Radicalization|radicalism]], which begin to question again the objective criteria by which we could measure human social progress. For example, labor productivity might be a criterion of social progress, but how about [[infant mortality]]? This kind of thinking rejects the political traditions of the past, and argues that a variety of criteria must be applied to assess social progress. In some cases, this leads to new charters for the moral criteria to which a society should aspire; in other cases, authentic lived experience in society with all its complexities is emphasized.
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
* [[J. B. Bury|Bury, J. B.]] [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/4557 ''The Idea of Progress: An Inquiry into Its Origin and Growth.'' 1920].
* Spalding, Henry Norman, ''Civilization in East and West : an introduction to the study of human progress'', London, Oxford university press, H. Milford, 1939.
==See also==
* [[Constitutional economics]]
* [[Idea of Progress]]
* [[Progress (history)]]
* [[Social development]]
* [[Social change]]
* [[Social order]]
* [[Social regress]]
* [[Sociocultural evolution]]
* [[Technological progress]]
* [[Myth of Progress]]
==External links==
* [http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/m_progre.htm 1969 United Nations Declaration on Social Progress and Development]
* [http://www.un.org/esa/ United Nations Economic and Social Development]
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