Jason Crawford is the founder & president of The Roots of Progress, a nonprofit dedicated to establishing a new philosophy of progress for the 21st century.

Jason has written well over 100 essays on the history of technology and the philosophy of progress, and given numerous talks and interviews on the same.

He joins the show to discuss whether humans deserve progress, how to make progress cool, the two types of optimism, and more!

Important Links:

Show Notes:

Why do we need progress studies?
Are humans conditioned to resist progress?
Increasing the burden of safety
What the Roots of Progress is seeking to achieve
How can we make progress cool?
Pessimism of the intellect; optimism of the will
Do we deserve progress?
Progress & politics
Steelmanning the case against progress
How can we defend against bad actors?
Calibrating our approach to risk
MUCH more!

Books Mentioned:

Frankenstein; by Mary Shelley
Erewhon; by Samuel Butler
Darwin Among The Machines; by Samuel Butler
The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World; by David Deutsch
The Ultimate Resource; by Julian L. Simon
The Collapse of the Common Good: How America's Lawsuit Culture Undermines Our Freedom; by Philip K. Howard
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; by Douglas Adams
The Jungle; by Upton Sinclair
One Summer: America, 1927; by Bill Bryson

Jason Crawford — The Roots of Progress (EP.162)

Infinite Loops