#18804
Mentioned in 2 episodes
A short history of progress
Book • 2004
In this book, Ronald Wright explores the concept of progress and its implications for civilizations.
He uses examples from the fallen civilizations of Easter Island, Sumer, Rome, and the Maya, as well as the Stone Age, to illustrate how societies have repeatedly fallen into 'progress traps'—innovations that create new problems or exacerbate existing ones.
Wright argues that the 10,000-year experiment of settled life has been characterized by environmental destruction and economic inequality, and he warns that modern society must adopt long-term thinking and environmental sustainability to avoid the fate of past civilizations.
He uses examples from the fallen civilizations of Easter Island, Sumer, Rome, and the Maya, as well as the Stone Age, to illustrate how societies have repeatedly fallen into 'progress traps'—innovations that create new problems or exacerbate existing ones.
Wright argues that the 10,000-year experiment of settled life has been characterized by environmental destruction and economic inequality, and he warns that modern society must adopt long-term thinking and environmental sustainability to avoid the fate of past civilizations.
Mentioned by
Mentioned in 2 episodes
Mentioned by Pamela Swanigan as a book that exposed the idea of linear progress as fallacious and talked about progress traps.
28 snips
“Hopium” and the Long Defeat | Pamela Swanigan
Mentioned by 
Theo Von as a book that he often recommends to people, describing it as a brief book that goes through empires and how they rise and fall.
Theo Von as a book that he often recommends to people, describing it as a brief book that goes through empires and how they rise and fall.
636 - Theo Von (Reboot of Ep 342)
