Progress: A History of Humanity’s Worst Idea
‘A spirited skewering of the idea that things can only get better’ The Guardian
‘A new understanding of our past’ Danny Dorling, author of Inequality and the 1%
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Progress is power. But our modern story of progress is a very dangerous fiction.
In the pursuit of progress, of growth and expansion, we have levelled cities, flattened mountains, charted the globe and ushered in a new geological epoch unique in our planet’s 4.5-billion-year history. The idea of progress has compelled societies toward exploration, invention, and grandiosity on one hand, and on the other, genocide, slavery, ecocide, and conquest: it is the root of our civilization’s success, as well as its looming demise.
Geographer Samuel Miller McDonald offers a radical new perspective on the myth upon which the modern world is built, illuminating its blood-strewn lineage and suggesting an urgent alternative. He traces the history of how human societies broke from their pasts, broke from their environments, and broke from longstanding egalitarian values that sustained them, supplanting these with one imperative to rule all others: progress.
If humanity is to have any chance of a future, then we must fundamentally change the way we think about one of our most basic political ideas. This landmark work shows us where to begin.
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‘Progress explodes the great myth of our time. Lucid and wise’ David Farrier, author of Footprints
‘If you think progress will take us to the promised land, this is a must-read’ Alpa Shah, author of The Incarcerations
'This is a wise book, and hopefully its wisdom will rub off. We need to take the human traits that fixated on 'more' and turn them towards 'better'' Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature -
'There is an idealism to this book that refreshes readers jaded by the claims of 'techno-futurism' and the aspirations of oligarchs. You read this book and want to love the earth rather than reach for stars' Kirkus Reviews -
'Geographer McDonald debuts with a sweeping reappraisal of the notion of historical progress. … The result is a provocative interrogation of the very foundations of modern society' Publishers Weekly -
'If you think progress will take us to the promised land, this is a must-read' Alpa Shah, author of The Incarcerations -
‘From debunking creation myths to arguing for a deeper happiness, Progress upturns shibboleths and warns of a potentially dire future. Without new understandings of our past, such as that given here, chaos may be inevitable’ Danny Dorling, author of Inequality and the 1% -
'An urgent critique of the ideology of progress, for readers who enjoy the work of Thomas Piketty, David Graeber, and Jared Diamond' Library Journal -
'This book shatters the ideological foundation of liberalism and capitalism… Samuel Miller McDonald could not have chosen a timelier moment to reveal the violent and ecologically catastrophic underbelly of the myth we call “progress.” The rousing implication is that each and every day of our precarious lives on this precious planet must be seized for collective struggle and worldbuilding. The future will not save us' Thea Riofrancos, author of A Planet to Win -
'Progress explodes the great myth of our time. Spanning cultures, continents and millennia, Samuel Miller McDonald shows how the pursuit of progress has always been a zero-sum game, and dares to imagine something better might be possible. Lucid and wise' David Farrier, author of Footprints -