Progress Is Just Another Buzzword

The way the media sells progress—as creation of better machines—is such a fascinating, emotionally charged chunk of bullshit. An embarrassing moment in our history, really. Three thousand years from now, people will look back and scratch their heads. Perhaps, our time will be known as the Age of Bullshit.

Here is an analogy: Imagine that there is genetic mutation that causes people to lose sensitivity to sex while making them extra aggressive (not a real mutation, I just made it up).  Imagine that this mutation spreads, and suddenly, there is a small population of people who don’t have any sexual feelings but have an exaggerated need to dominate. When they say that sexual sensations don’t exist, they tell their subjective truth. And because they are aggressive, they believe that they are correct, and the “original” people are all backwards. And so they bully the majority of human beings into feeling inadequate and defeated. (Why the people individually agree to it is another story, the devil is always in the details.) 

Today’s culture is led by a particular psychological type. They are damaged, and they have their strengths and weaknesses. Their strength is assertiveness. Their weakness is a lack of wisdom. Our modern civilization is a case of successful bullying on a massive scale–but because civilizational trends span very long periods of time, a cursory observation makes it seem as though out species has always been led by egomaniacs.

Not the case! The value system of the dominant psychological type of today is arbitrary. Their definition of success is not universal. Their definition of progress, too, is a direct result of their personal limitations—but because ignorance often comes with added confidence, they confidently march other people up and down the street all day, and people…. accept it? 

I think any time is a good time to remind those who feel entitled to defining other people’s obligations  in their own name and likeness, to back off and stop the bullying. There is no evidence proving that their approach is great. In fact, if you look at the state of the environment or at the human condition, there is plenty of evidence proving that they are misguided assholes. 

Personally, I have nothing against machines or technological advancements as such. My kitchen processor is an amazingly useful machine. But the propaganda disseminated by people with limited perspectives is an abomination.

Their kind of “progress” is one of those things that only sound amazing in theory. 

Like wearing my mom’s high-heel shoes to the grocery store when I was 11.

Photo credit:
Pollution swan. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.