Modernity and the Idea of Progress

Abstract

This paper aims to show the centrality the concept of progress occupies explicitly and implicitly in social theory, in relation to the theorization and understanding of modernity; it also raises the question whether in times where Eurocentrism, logocentrism, and indeed almost every claim of supremacy are rightly viewed with suspicion, it is possible to think of modernity without relying on some interpretation of the notion of progress. Arguably, the theme of progress, together with the complementary notion of decline, can be considered as a key-component of discourses concerning modernity and has played a major role in the shaping of social theory. Comte and Durkheim relied in different ways in the idea of progress and the same holds for Marxist accounts of social change. Even later, sociological theories address modernity from the perspective of progress, Parsons being exemplary in this respect. Moreover, theoretical discourses adopting a critical or even hostile attitude against the modern project often question the idea of progress and are woven around the representation of modernity in terms of decline and regression into unreason, as, e.g., Adorno and Horkheimer's Dialectic of Enightment. Arguably, the imagery of progress informs the distinction between society and community, which is also hidden behind Habermas's more recent theorization of societies in terms of systems and lifeworlds. Finally, the question regarding the possibility of partially disentangling the theorization of modernity from the idea of progress is pursued via a critical assessment of Eisenstadt's multiple modernities and Wagner's theorization of modernity in terms of responses given to basic problématiques.

Society 5.0 and Social Development: Contributions to a Discussion

“…The idea of progress has been often associated with modernity and with the social theory itself (Mouzakitis, 2017;Chávarro, 2018;Salazar, 2016;Craipeau & Metzger, 2007). In the bibliographical research carried out, as a curiosity, Wikipedia itself (English version, in a search made on April 14, 2018) refers to the concept of Industry 4.0 (Wikipedia, 2018a), which raises interest worldwide in several activity sectors (Ang, Goh, Saldivar, & Li, 2017;Lin, Shyu, & Ding, 2017;Reis & Gins, 2017), but it does not (yet?)…”

The Digital Culture Of The Academy And The Limits Of Technology

“…Modernity has been characterised by several scholars as a time period in world history marked by turbulent shifts in the social and material realities humans inhabit as a result of events, inventions, and occurrences predicated on particular ways of seeing the world (Gardner & Osella, 2003;Giddens, 1996;Mouzakitis, 2017). While the invention of various technologies and their enduring impact is one of many key factors which shape interpersonal relations and broader social structures, natural and man-made events and occurrences such as the national independence of several countries from many years of colonial rule and diverse natural disasters are also examples of the makings of the Modern world (Duara, 2014;O'Connor, 2000).…”

The UK government LGBT Action Plan: Discourses of progress, enduring stasis, and LGBTQI+ lives ‘getting better’

“…Indeed, progress, as a comparative concept, discursively underpins the LGBT Action Plan and politicians’ speeches delivered in tandem. Understood as an inevitable linear trajectory of ‘moving forward’ in space or time toward a more advanced position, progress is key to sociological and philosophical understandings and characterisations of modernity (Adkins, 2002; Mouzakitis, 2017).…”