What Happened to Progress?

[Serial_Apologist]

Conveniently for one's purposes, this thread title is that of a series of "ideas" programmes on Radio 4, 3 in all, of which last Monday's is repeated on Sunday at 5.10pm, with the second on Monday at 11am. The write-up suggests that the topic is tackled head on.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002nv8r

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002pf4t

[vinteuil]

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... and you were a Believer in "Progress"?

[Serial_Apologist]

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... and you were a Believer in ...

... the possibility in (and possibilities of}

..."Progress"?

Yes.

I'm looking forward to how Mr Sweet and his invitees deal with the subject, having, of course, defined it.

[vinteuil]

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... I have a lot of time for Matthew Sweet. Don't like his new spectacles...

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[teamsaint]

If they were good enough for The Buggles…..

Probably proof that history does in fact repeat itself.

[smittims]

I haven't listened to it yet but thanks forthe notice; I often miss things on Radio 4 . This looks like the sort of intelligent programme we used to have on the Third .

I have heard that historians and economists have suggested that the second half of the 20th-century was an unusual period of peace and prosperity for western civilisation (compared, of course with other half-centuries) . This may have led people to believe that progress was unstoppable. Certainly there was a widespead belief before1914 that humanity generally was moving into an age of improvement.

[Serial_Apologist]

I haven't listened to it yet but thanks forthe notice; I often miss things on Radio 4 . This looks like the sort of intelligent programme we used to have on the Third .

I have heard that historians and economists have suggested that the second half of the 20th-century was an unusual period of peace and prosperity for western civilisation (compared, of course with other half-centuries) . This may have led people to believe that progress was unstoppable. Certainly there was a widespead belief before1914 that humanity generally was moving into an age of improvement.

"For western civilisation" being the salient, given that it (not we, who had no choice beyond consumerism in the matter) outsourced our future wars to the "developing world", which I would still call the Third World but for the fact that Russia and China have joined the First. .

[Maclintick]

I started to listen to this, but was driven mad by the inane music “beds” that seem to be ubiquitous on R4 features these days. But that’s progress for you, I suppose…

[EnemyoftheStoat]

I started to listen to this, but was driven mad by the inane music “beds” that seem to be ubiquitous on R4 features these days. But that’s progress for you, I suppose…

Ah, I didn't find those too much of a distraction. I guess the darn things are present in so many other places, such as football highlights, where some Herbert decided long ago that goals need some up-tempo backing track. But of course the next time I listen to this programme...