Progress

When I was young, in the 1960s and 1970s, the word "progress" was in frequent use. It was an age of the Space Race. It was an age of social upheaval. Assumptions of centuries were thrown in the air and allowed to shatter with a sense of creative glee. It was an age of Free Love.

 

Great leaps of social progress and scientific progress marked the time. Traditional marriage was questioned and discarded by many in favor of open relationships. Race was openly discussed as a barrier in society, as opposed to a God-given place in society. Religion was seen for its manipulative control and restriction of the human spirit. The judgment of sexual identity as deviant if it diverged from mainstream heterosexuality was debunked by social science.

 

This time has been dubbed an age of Inclusion. Multiculturalism, diversity, globalization and normalization are all active concepts in developed countries. At what price has Inclusion replaced Progress? And are they mutually exclusive or mutually inclusive?

 

Progress comes when the brightest and most expressive are lauded and encouraged to succeed for the benefit of all. Yes, "the benefit of all" means a form of passive social inclusion. The pioneering of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs brought benefit to all. Improved computers have accelerated health research and treatment. Improved technology has made workplaces more efficient and less sweat-labor-intensive. Improved technology has made devices for the home, which improve the quality of daily life, less expensive and more efficient.

 

Inclusion implies that all should share in an improved society equally. However, in the capitalism of our age, Inclusion means that all theoretically have the same potential for experiencing the benefits of progress. Theoretically. In practice, capitalism ensures that only a top elite gain all the benefits of progress at the expense of a huge underclass. The trickle-down effect is just that...a trickle, a drip, a seepage. Meanwhile, the base of the socioeconomic pyramid spreads, making the trickle less and less saturating.

 

While today's entrepreneurial social activists sell Inclusion with sanctimonious political correctness, those who rule through a lobbyist-controlled government in the U.S. pervert the concept to satisfy the greed of their handlers. This is not progress or true inclusion. This is ancient exploitation of the public wealth by the aristocracy.

 

Progress in the individual life often entails painful realizations and remedial action. Progress in science often entails failure and starting over. Progress in society often entails acknowledgment of dysfunction and political action, such as protest and nonviolent resistance. Progress, combined with Inclusion, is a positive and world-changing social movement.