We're All Obsessed with Progress - And Its Costing us

The Hamster's Wheel

We fancy ourselves sophisticated animals - clever toolmakers and relentless innovators. Ingenuity, we believe, sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. We clothe ourselves, build machines to save time and energy, and yet, somehow, we remain deaf to the relentless squeaking of a far more profound wheel.

Not the wheels of our cars or the gears driving the machines that sustain modern life, but a wheel few of us see or acknowledge. The wheel that, for all our intelligence, makes us no different from a hamster running endlessly in its cage.

The hamster's wheel is innocent - it spins for exercise, for a fleeting distraction. Ours, however, is far more sinister, propelling us in a ceaseless race toward ambitions we barely understand.

The hamster wouldn't even have a wheel to run on, were it not for us - the inventors of its cage. What does that say about the wheels we've built for our selves?

Collective Unconscious

Think I'm full of it? Ask yourself: what does it really mean to live a good life?

At any stage of life, the answer might sound familiar to those around you. A student might say it's about getting good grades, attending a prestigious school, and eventually building a family. A young professional might define it as landing a coveted promotion or hitting a certain salary milestone. For a parent, a good life might be one where their children grow into successful, functional members of society.

No matter where you are in life, the concept of progress seems inescapable. Whatever you believe constitutes a good life, it likely aligns with the idea that progress is essential. Achieving goals, moving forward, and hitting milestones - this is what we equate with a good life.

It's an idea so pervasive that it might feel inevitable, even natural.

Carl Jung might have called this an archetype of the collective unconscious: a deeply ingrained idea that subconsciously shapes how we think and act as a society.

We see patterns in nature and mirror them, claiming that moving forward is the only just path. The idea that "Backward" connotes failure or misdirection, is embedded in our collective mythos. This belief silently influences our individual and collective goals, often without our explicit awareness.

The idea of progress influences individual choices, directs institutions, and codifies laws into our governments.

Lifting the Veil

Once you recognize how deeply this idea permeates everything we do in life, it becomes almost impossible to ignore. It's like the uncanny feeling when someone points out that you have something stuck in your teeth - you immediately wonder how long it's been there before anyone mentioned it.

Consider how the idea of progress has shaped not only your personal aspirations but also our collective societal goals.

A "good" career is often defined as one that propels society forward. Jobs in tech, for example, are celebrated with yips and hoorays, while jobs in waste management are met with quiet prayers for better opportunities. Tech jobs shape the future, while waste management deals with the shadows of today - shaded by the scraps and remnants of yesterday's meals. One is seen as advancing society, while the other is viewed as stagnant, burdened with managing the detritus of the present.

Governments, too, prioritize growth and innovation, aiming to boost Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by investing in scientific breakthroughs and space exploration. In contrast, social welfare programs are often dismissed as wasteful, mired in outdated "backward", communist, political ideologies.

Even religions, which serve as bastions of conservatism and tradition, now seek fresh approaches to attract young followers.

This relentless pursuit of progress has broken down cultural barriers, fostering a universal appeal for modernity. Yet, in doing so, it has eroded cultural diversity, imposing a singular vision of what it means to be "modern." Consider the way a modern person dresses, what image does that conjure in your mind? How might that conflict with the multitude of cultures in the world whose dress might seem a bit "backward".

While most of us, whether consciously or unconsciously, continue along this path of progress, there's often a nagging sense that something is off. We witness the environmental consequences of prioritizing short-term gains over ecological sustainability, as though progress demands we sacrifice one to achieve the other.

And still, we forge ahead - into the uncharted territories of genetic engineering and artificial intelligence - despite the glaring risks that anyone with even the slightest imagination can foresee. Progress, it seems, is a force we cannot stop, even when the outcomes may lead us to question if it was worth the cost.

The Duality of Progress

I admit I may have come off a bit strong up to this point. It might seem as though I'm condemning progress outright. However, my intent is not to dismiss progress but to highlight its pervasive grip on society worldwide.

Humanity didn't always carry this relentless obsession with progress - it's not some inherent "brain virus" we were born with. We can trace its roots to the Enlightenment, roughly 340 years ago. During that period, the modern framework of progress began to take hold, coinciding with the founding of what would become the United States. It's no coincidence, perhaps, that this nation has since led the charge in declaring progress as the only just way forward - a belief rooted in Enlightenment ideals of reason and innovation.

No doubt, much good has come from the pursuit of progress. Where would we be if we had never dared to defy "God's will" and create cures for once-deadly diseases? Who would have been driven to invent flying machines or automobiles, tools that maximize the brief time each individual has on this planet?

Progress has also shattered oppressive systems, freeing entire groups, cultures, and classes from the bonds of slavery and servitude as human rights have advanced.

Should we take progress for granted? Is it simply an inevitable outcome, a path we only need to follow until we arrive at utopia?

Countless works of literature explore the folly of anchoring one's aspirations to the idea of perpetual progress. The Great Gatsby offers a poignant example through the life of Jay Gatsby. For him, the goal was to become "The Great Gatsby" - the richest, most admired version of himself - believing that this transformation might fill the void in his heart and finally earn him true love.

This void isn't unique to Jay Gatsby. Despite living in what is statistically considered the best time to be alive in the history of mankind, we also face an era marked by the highest recorded rates of mental health issues, particularly in the most "advanced" nations.

It seems the mythos of progress is not something to be taken lightly. It is neither inherently good nor bad, but it must be approached with awareness and understanding, not blind faith.

Why Few Understand the Progression Paradigm's Influence

You don't know what you don't know. And when you know something too well, it can start to feel like an undeniable, objective truth rather than a cultural construct. This makes it all the more difficult to recognize when we're blindly following a path laid out for us.

We're taught to believe in a "natural" progression of humanity - from hunter-gatherers to industrialized societies - yet we often overlook the sideways steps and detours humanity has taken along the way. As far as I know, every person educated in institutionalized schools has been introduced to this narrative of human civilization, meaning many of us have been drinking the Kool-Aid from an early age.

This mythos embeds itself even further in our media and politics, shaping our worldview. But, like noticing something stuck in your teeth, once you become aware of it, it's hard to ignore - and you feel compelled to act.

Another gift of the Enlightenment, the scientific method, teaches us that truths about nature can be uncovered through experimentation. Yet these "truths" hold only as long as they aren't disproven.

So, what is there to disprove here?

Progression is always good for mankind.

 Taken to its logical conclusion, it wont always be. I desperately hope we don't get to the point to when we can definitively prove that.

Man Evolves but the World and His Mind Vanish

Single-minded pursuit of progress at all costs is inherently all-consuming. Left unchecked, it threatens to erode both our physical and mental well-being, transforming humanity into something entirely unrecognizable. We are on the brink of such a transformation with the rise of genetic engineering, bio-technologies, and artificial intelligence.

Joe Rogan aptly describes this phenomenon as the "human cocoon." Much like a caterpillar mindlessly consuming leaves on a branch, humanity has ceaselessly innovated and progressed, weaving itself into a cocoon of technology. One day, just as the caterpillar emerges as a butterfly - an organism almost entirely different from its former self - we too may evolve into something radically altered: a technological being fully divorced from the organic nature that binds us to this planet.

Perhaps he's right. But if we awaken to the grip this narrative of relentless progress holds over our civilization, we may still have a chance to shape a different future. By adopting an interdisciplinary approach, we can ensure we do not succumb to the pitfalls of becoming the techno-larvae Rogan warns of.

Incorporating regional ethics rooted in cultural beliefs and ecological principles into our discussions about progress could provide a more sustainable and equitable path forward. This active, conscious approach would enable humanity to navigate its evolution while remaining connected to the organic world that sustains us.