The Possibility of Progress

My book, The Possibility of Progress, was published in 2005 and covers similar ground to the writing on this substack.

It’s a wide ranging exploration of the prospects for progress towards a more just, inclusive and sustainable world. Drawing on economics, politics, moral philosophy, evolutionary biology and social psychology, it argues that while there are no natural limits on the development of civilization, continued progress is dependent on the collective determination of human beings to create a better future.

While a little dated in terms of the political circumstances of two decades ago (who could have anticipated quite how the world has changed in the last 20 years?) most of it still stands up, and if you like the writing on this site you should enjoy it.

It garnered one or two positive comments at the time of publication: The late Tony Benn thought it “a deeply moral and intellectual book”.  James Robertson called it “important, impressive and readable”.  John West, writing in Tribune, thought it demonstrated “an impressively broad knowledge and reading of philosophy, science and economics”. Tony Vickers called it “copiously researched and crisply but elegantly written”, while Charles Bazlinton said it “contains a mine of useful historical information”.

A longer synopsis and reviews of the book are available here.

I’m a firm believer in supporting independent bookshops, so please, if you can order it from your local store, do so.

Failing that, please buy it directly from my excellent publisher, Shepheard-Walwyn.

If all else fails, you can also find it on Amazon.