From Bubble to Mainstream: What Progress Means for Different People and Communities

Progress thinkers Jason Crawford and Benedict Macon-Cooney lead a wide-ranging discussion on the many ways individuals and communities can build a better future. Come and bring your questions, stories and projects!

A progress studies movement is calling upon us to understand the history of technological and scientific breakthroughs and how to keep the many resulting improvements sustainable. But how do we prevent these ideas from being locked into an intellectual bubble, instead of reaching mainstream discussion?

At this salon, you’ll meet thinkers who believe that in order to thrive as individuals, communities, and even countries, we need to challenge our mental models, understand wider perspectives, and together take ownership of the path to progress. Let’s bring writers and doers together, and draw out a collective list of next steps!

Some conversation starters to which we hope you’ll have more to add:

• Historical contexts of progress
• Culture perspectives on progress: barrier or enabler?
• Social conditions for progress
• Where next from here, and how?

Get in the mood with…

• Jason’s Roots of Progress
• Benedict and team’s vision for tech-enabled progress
• Garrison Lovely’s BBC article on progress

Photo credit: DALL·E; an abstract visual of a group of people thinking about progress.