In our eagerness to define and measure progress, we have created a plethora of meanings and measures. The Gross National Product and the Dow Jones Industrial Average measure economic progress. Other, more general forms of progress are more difficult to discern. To find broader meanings, I choose to break progress down into technological, or material progress and moral, or metaphysical progress. Each year the racing cars and military jets go faster.
Computers become smaller, faster, and more affordable.
In terms of technology, our culture is progressing at a rate never seen before. Technological progress, however, is not always good. The ability to build an airport or a shopping mall in a marsh or over quality farmground does not represent a positive cultural advance. Similarly, the world would be much safer if nuclear physicists had not developed the Bomb. Therefore, technological advance does not invaribly change the planet for the better.