Progress Is a Grand Project for Humanity
Why Read This
What Makes This Article Worth Your Time
Summary
What This Article Is About
Jason Crawford, founder of the Roots of Progress Institute, argues that humans need more than material comfort—we require meaning, purpose, and heroic archetypes to emulate. With traditional frontiers closed and warfare no longer glamorized, modern society faces a crisis of purpose that manifests in restlessness and drift. Citing J. Storrs Hall and Ross Douthat, Crawford contends that the closing of physical frontiers has led to status games and institutional decline, leaving Silicon Valley’s best minds working on trivial problems rather than grand challenges.
Crawford proposes that progress itself provides humanity’s grand project—a legacy stretching from the first stone tools to potential exploration of distant galaxies. This project produces marvelous artifacts like the Millau Viaduct and intellectual achievements worthy of aesthetic appreciation. Progress offers an ambitious, constructive goal accessible to all humanity, justified by reason rather than exclusive tradition. The new heroic archetypes are scientists, inventors, and founders who tackle Knightian uncertainty, demonstrating virtue through their work. Drawing on Ayn Rand, Crawford argues that productive work demands energy, vision, courage, rationality, and persistence—making technological achievement a profoundly moral endeavor.
Key Points
Main Takeaways
Conventional Morality Isn’t Enough
Prudence, charity, and tolerance may make us better people, but they don’t inspire or invigorate—we need ambitious goals to feed the soul.
The Frontier Crisis
With physical frontiers closed and Apollo canceled, society lacks venues for effort against nature, devolving into squabbling and status games.
No Return to Tradition
Proposals to return to Christianity, feudalism, or Rome ignore why we moved forward—progress means seeking improved futures, not romanticized pasts.
Progress as Universal Project
Progress spans from earliest stone tools to distant galaxies, accessible to all humanity, justified by reason rather than exclusive faith or tradition.
New Heroic Archetypes
Scientists, inventors, and founders are modern heroes who tackle Knightian uncertainty, facing unknown unknowns with unshakeable confidence despite critics.
Productive Work Demands Virtue
Scientific and technological achievement requires energy, vision, independence, courage, rationality, persistence, and resilience—making material production an achievement of the spirit.
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Article Analysis
Breaking Down the Elements
Main Idea
Progress as Existential Solution
Crawford argues that humanity faces a crisis of meaning with traditional sources of purpose—warfare, physical frontiers, religious tradition—either closed or morally inadequate. Progress itself, understood as the ongoing project to advance human capabilities and well-being, offers the grand narrative and heroic archetypes modern society desperately needs, providing both individual meaning and collective direction forward.
Purpose
To Inspire and Elevate
Crawford writes to inspire scientists, inventors, and founders by reframing their work as morally meaningful and historically significant. He aims to elevate technological achievement from merely lucrative or interesting to heroic and virtuous, providing philosophical justification for ambitious projects while countering both the trivialization of innovation and reactionary calls to abandon progress for romanticized tradition.
Structure
Diagnostic → Critique → Prescription → Exhortation
Crawford opens by diagnosing the human need for meaning beyond conventional morality. He then critiques failed solutions—glamorized warfare, closed physical frontiers, and reactionary traditionalism. The core prescription presents progress as the grand project with appropriate scale and heroic archetypes. He concludes with direct exhortation to scientists, inventors, and founders, acknowledging their struggles while calling them to moral courage.
Tone
Philosophical, Aspirational & Morally Urgent
The tone combines philosophical reflection with aspirational rhetoric and moral urgency. Crawford maintains intellectual rigor when diagnosing society’s meaning crisis while adopting elevated, almost prophetic language when describing progress’s scope and grandeur. The conclusion shifts to intimate address—”You in these fields”—combining empathy for innovators’ struggles with exhortation to greatness, creating a tone simultaneously sobering and inspiring.
Key Terms
Vocabulary from the Article
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Tough Words
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According to Jacques Barzun: a very active time full of deep concerns but peculiarly restless, seeing no clear lines of advance.
“Douthat was writing about American ‘decadence,’ by which he means not hedonism or luxury, but, quoting historian Jacques Barzun: ‘a very active time, full of deep concerns, but peculiarly restless, for it sees no clear lines of advance.'”
Detached from a fixed position or foundation; lacking stability, direction, or a sense of purpose.
“‘Silicon Valley has lost its way,’ says the CEO of Palantir in a recent book: ‘the current generation of spectacularly talented engineering minds has become unmoored from any sense of national purpose or grander and more meaningful project.'”
A symbol of abundance consisting of a goat’s horn overflowing with fruit, flowers, and grain; an abundant supply of good things.
“To realize every dream of our ancestors: the never-empty cornucopia of food, light conjured from the darkness, immunity from disease, flight, creating life, exploring the stars, immortality.”
Relating to economist Frank Knight’s distinction between risk (measurable uncertainty) and true uncertainty (unmeasurable, unknown unknowns).
“But they have this in common: their challenge is to tackle Knightian uncertainty. They face a field of unknown unknowns, and no one can calculate the probability or predict the timing of their success.”
So firm or strong that it cannot be weakened or disturbed; completely steadfast and unwavering.
“They stand alone against critics who say they’re idiotic or deluded, and they manifest unshakeable confidence that they will succeed, despite having no map of the path to their destination.”
The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; the ability to spring back into shape after being compressed or stretched.
“It requires focus and dedication over many years of effort. It requires persistence and resilience in the face of setbacks.”
Reading Comprehension
Test Your Understanding
5 questions covering different RC question types
1According to Crawford, conventional morality like prudence, charity, and tolerance is sufficient to provide humans with the meaning and purpose they need.
2Why does Crawford argue that society needs a frontier, according to J. Storrs Hall’s perspective cited in the article?
3Which sentence best captures Crawford’s argument against returning to traditional values or past societies?
4Based on the article, determine whether each statement about progress as a project is true or false:
Progress is described as a cooperative project that benefits from an ever-expanding team because ideas can be shared infinitely without diminishment.
Crawford argues that progress is justified by human nature and reason rather than by faith or tradition meaningful only to specific peoples.
The primary goal of progress, according to Crawford, is the alleviation of human suffering and relief from material deprivation.
Select True or False for all three statements, then click “Check Answers”
5Based on Crawford’s use of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, what can be inferred about his view of the relationship between material production and moral virtue?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Knightian uncertainty, named for economist Frank Knight, distinguishes between risk (where probabilities can be calculated) and true uncertainty (unmeasurable unknowns). Scientists, inventors, and founders face ‘a field of unknown unknowns’ where ‘no one can calculate the probability or predict the timing of their success.’ Unlike routine work with predictable outcomes, they venture into territory with no roadmap, standing alone against critics while manifesting unshakeable confidence despite having no guaranteed path to their destination. This fundamental uncertainty makes their work heroic—requiring vision, courage, and persistence in the face of the unknowable.
Crawford argues that proposals to ‘retvrn’ to Christianity, feudalism, or ancient Rome ignore the legitimate reasons society moved forward. We abandoned constant warfare, racial bigotry, and systems denying women autonomy for good reason. Invoking Chesterton’s principle about not removing fences without understanding why they were built, Crawford applies the same logic to replacements—don’t restore what was removed without understanding why it was taken down. Fundamentally, commitment to progress means seeking improved futures rather than romanticized pasts. This doesn’t mean rejecting all tradition, but it means moving forward deliberately rather than backward nostalgically.
Crawford contrasts ‘humble aims such as the mere alleviation of suffering’ with progress’s ‘ambitious aim: to build an amazing world, to create marvels and wonders, to make magic and fantasy come true.’ While alleviating suffering appeals to compassion or pity, building an amazing future speaks to wonder, excitement, adventure, and romance. The goal isn’t just reducing negatives but achieving positives—realizing ancestral dreams of abundant food, conjured light, immunity from disease, flight, creating life, exploring stars, even immortality. This represents ‘reaching for the full exercise of human capabilities and the full realization of our potential’ rather than merely minimizing harm.
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This article is classified as Intermediate level. While the core argument is accessible, it requires engagement with philosophical concepts (meaning, purpose, virtue), familiarity with referenced thinkers (Ayn Rand, Jacques Barzun, Ross Douthat, J. Storrs Hall), and ability to follow extended analogical reasoning. The vocabulary includes specialized terms (Knightian uncertainty, hominin, archetype) and elevated diction (indomitable, illustrious, imbued). The argument structure moves through diagnosis, critique, and prescription, requiring readers to track how each section builds toward Crawford’s ultimate exhortation. However, concrete examples and direct address make the content engaging despite philosophical sophistication.
Crawford catalogs specific virtues required for frontier scientific and technological work: energy and ambition to pursue difficult new challenges rather than comfortable routine; vision to see worthy goals invisible to others; independence of mind to find your own path rather than following crowds; courage to commit with no success guarantee; strict rationality and ruthless honesty to admit what works and discard cherished failures; focus and dedication sustained over years; persistence and resilience facing setbacks. Quoting Rand, he argues productive work ‘calls upon the highest attributes of character,’ making ‘all material production…an achievement of the spirit.’ This reframes innovation as moral practice, not just intellectual or commercial activity.
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