The lure of technocracy

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I’ve said that society was generally optimistic about progress until the early 20th century, and lost that confidence in the World Wars. By the late 20th century, from about the 1970s on, a deep skepticism and distrust of progress had come to prominence. But what happened in between? I have a new theory about what characterized the attitude toward progress (in the US, at least) from about the 1930s through the ‘60s. It’s just a hypothesis at this stage, but it goes like this: The 19th century was dominated by a belief in the power of human reason and its ability to advance science and technology for the betterment of life. But after World War I and the Great Depression, it got harder to believe in the rationality of humanity or in the predictability and controllability of the world. The generation that went through these shocks, however, was not ready to give up on the idea of progress. They still wanted progress and still believed that reason could achieve it—but they worried that the

The lure of technocracy The Roots of Progress About the blog • Writing • Speaking • Bibliography • Subscribe • Roots of Progress Institute The lure of technocracy A hypothesis about the mid–20th century attitude towards progress by Jason Crawford · March 31, 2022 · 5 min read I’ve said that society was generally optimistic about progress until the early 20th century, and lost that confidence in the World Wars . By the late 20th century, from about the 1970s on, a deep skepticism and distrust of progress had come to prominence. But what happened in between? I have a new theo

The lure of technocracy

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