{"id":116139,"date":"2025-05-22T13:57:45","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T17:57:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/?post_type=ftm_article&#038;p=116139"},"modified":"2025-06-03T18:03:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T22:03:14","slug":"techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-6-section-2","status":"publish","type":"ftm_article","link":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/the-material-world\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-6-section-2","title":{"rendered":"If progress has stalled, we need to know why"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"hidden sm:block md:block relative z-10 f-block f-block--content-series-slider f-block--tighter f-block--full b-css\">\n    <div class=\"f-block__inner\">\n        <div class=\"f-block__content f-block__content--no-grid f-block__content--padded\">\n            <div class=\"py-3 border-t border-b border-gray-20 dark:border-none flex w-full max-w-full justify-items-stretch gap-x-9\">\n                <div class=\"flex-grow-0 flex-shrink-0 w-36 md:w-40\">\n                    <div class=\"eyebrow mb-1 dark:text-gray-400\">\n                        Jason Crawford                    <\/div>\n                                            <div class=\"font-archivo tracking-tight text-2xl md:text-2xl leading-5 md:leading-6 font-extrabold\">\n                            <a class=\"text-black dark:text-white dark:hover:text-white hover:text-black focus:text-black hover:underline-thickness focus:underline-thickness\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/collections\/the-techno-humanist-manifesto\">                            The Techno-Humanist Manifesto                            <\/a>                        <\/div>\n                                        <\/div>\n                <div class=\"relative flex-grow-1 w-full px-8 h-20\">\n                    <!-- navigation buttons -->\n                    <div class=\"swiper-button-prev absolute z-10 left-0 w-7 flex-row flex justify-center items-center top-0 h-full bg-white dark:bg-transparent swiper-button-disabled\">\n                        <div class=\"text-bold transform rotate-180 dark:text-white\">\n                            <?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?>\n<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"11\" height=\"16\" viewBox=\"0 0 11 16\" fill=\"none\">\n  <path d=\"M1 1L9.14243 8.2L1 15\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\"><\/path>\n<\/svg>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"swiper-button-next absolute z-10 right-0 w-7 flex-row flex justify-center items-center top-0 h-full bg-white dark:bg-transparent swiper-button-disabled\">\n                        <div class=\"dark:text-white\">\n                            <?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?>\n<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"11\" height=\"16\" viewBox=\"0 0 11 16\" fill=\"none\">\n  <path d=\"M1 1L9.14243 8.2L1 15\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\"><\/path>\n<\/svg>\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                    \n                    <div class=\"relative w-full\">\n                                                    <div class=\"absolute top-0 left-0 overflow-x-hidden w-full max-w-full\">\n                                <script>\n                                if (!window.freethink_scroller_config) {\n                                    window.freethink_scroller_config = [];\n                                }\n                                window.freethink_scroller_config['slider_1'] = {\n                                    slidesPerView: 1,\n                                    spaceBetween: 20,\n                                    breakpoints: {\n                                        768: {\n                                            slidesPerView: 2,\n                                        },\n                                        1024: {\n                                            slidesPerView: 3,\n               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href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/opinion\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-11\">\n                                                            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/The-Progress-Agenda_compressed.jpg?quality=75&amp;w=80&amp;h=80&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-preview_square_xs size-preview_square_xs\" alt=\"Abstract collage with arrows, a person skating, a woman using a microscope, scientific illustrations, and the text &quot;The Progress Agenda 11&quot; on a grid background.\" sizes=\"80px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/The-Progress-Agenda_compressed.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/The-Progress-Agenda_compressed.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/The-Progress-Agenda_compressed.jpg?resize=120,120 120w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/The-Progress-Agenda_compressed.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/The-Progress-Agenda_compressed.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/The-Progress-Agenda_compressed.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/The-Progress-Agenda_compressed.jpg?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/The-Progress-Agenda_compressed.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w\" \/>                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                    <div class=\"flex-grow-1\">\n                                                        <a class=\"font-archivo text-black dark:text-white dark:hover:text-white inline-block hover:text-black focus:text-black text-sm tracking-tight leading-4 font-bold line-clamp-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/opinion\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-11\">\n                                                            A playbook for the next century of progress                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/div>\n                                            <\/div>\n                                                                                        <div class=\"block b-css__slide swiper-slide w-72\">\n                                                <div class=\"flex gap-4\">\n                                                    <div class=\"text-bold w-20 flex-shrink-0\">\n                                                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/opinion\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-10\">\n                                                            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/the-grand-project_compressed.jpg?quality=75&amp;w=80&amp;h=80&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-preview_square_xs size-preview_square_xs\" alt=\"Collage featuring a knight on horseback, microscope, Golden Gate Bridge, geometric shapes, and the text &quot;The 10 Grand Project&quot; in bold red letters.\" sizes=\"80px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/the-grand-project_compressed.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/the-grand-project_compressed.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/the-grand-project_compressed.jpg?resize=120,120 120w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/the-grand-project_compressed.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/the-grand-project_compressed.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/the-grand-project_compressed.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/the-grand-project_compressed.jpg?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/the-grand-project_compressed.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w\" \/>                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                    <div class=\"flex-grow-1\">\n                                                        <a class=\"font-archivo text-black dark:text-white dark:hover:text-white inline-block hover:text-black focus:text-black text-sm tracking-tight leading-4 font-bold line-clamp-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/opinion\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-10\">\n                                                            Progress is a grand project for humanity                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/div>\n                                            <\/div>\n                                                                                        <div class=\"block b-css__slide swiper-slide w-72\">\n                                                <div class=\"flex gap-4\">\n                                                    <div class=\"text-bold w-20 flex-shrink-0\">\n                                                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/the-material-world\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-9-section-2\">\n                                                            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/9.2-the-spirit-we-lost_pt-2.jpg?quality=75&amp;w=80&amp;h=80&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-preview_square_xs size-preview_square_xs\" alt=\"A collage with vintage industrial images, a map, a car, a mushroom cloud, and the text \u201cThe Spirit We Lost\u201d alongside the number 9 in the top right corner.\" sizes=\"80px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/9.2-the-spirit-we-lost_pt-2.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/9.2-the-spirit-we-lost_pt-2.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/9.2-the-spirit-we-lost_pt-2.jpg?resize=120,120 120w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/9.2-the-spirit-we-lost_pt-2.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/9.2-the-spirit-we-lost_pt-2.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/9.2-the-spirit-we-lost_pt-2.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/9.2-the-spirit-we-lost_pt-2.jpg?resize=900,900 900w\" \/>                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                    <div class=\"flex-grow-1\">\n                                                        <a class=\"font-archivo text-black dark:text-white dark:hover:text-white inline-block hover:text-black focus:text-black text-sm tracking-tight leading-4 font-bold line-clamp-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/the-material-world\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-9-section-2\">\n                                                            How technocracy made us doubt progress                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/div>\n                                            <\/div>\n                                                                                        <div class=\"block b-css__slide swiper-slide w-72\">\n                                                <div class=\"flex gap-4\">\n                                                    <div class=\"text-bold w-20 flex-shrink-0\">\n                                                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/the-material-world\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-9-section-1\">\n                                                            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/the-spirit-we-lost_compressed.png?quality=75&amp;w=80&amp;h=80&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-preview_square_xs size-preview_square_xs\" alt=\"Collage of vintage technology images, including a flying car, machinery, and early airplane, over a grid background with the text &quot;The Spirit We Lost&quot; and the number 9.\" sizes=\"80px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/the-spirit-we-lost_compressed.png?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/the-spirit-we-lost_compressed.png?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/the-spirit-we-lost_compressed.png?resize=120,120 120w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/the-spirit-we-lost_compressed.png?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/the-spirit-we-lost_compressed.png?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/the-spirit-we-lost_compressed.png?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/the-spirit-we-lost_compressed.png?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/the-spirit-we-lost_compressed.png?resize=1200,1200 1200w\" \/>                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                    <div class=\"flex-grow-1\">\n                                                        <a class=\"font-archivo text-black dark:text-white dark:hover:text-white inline-block hover:text-black focus:text-black text-sm tracking-tight leading-4 font-bold line-clamp-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/the-material-world\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-9-section-1\">\n                                                            We used to celebrate science and innovation                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/div>\n                                            <\/div>\n                                                                                        <div class=\"block b-css__slide swiper-slide w-72\">\n                                                <div class=\"flex gap-4\">\n                                                    <div class=\"text-bold w-20 flex-shrink-0\">\n                                                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/opinion\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-8-section-2\">\n                                                            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/unlimited-horizon_pt-2.jpg?quality=75&amp;w=80&amp;h=80&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-preview_square_xs size-preview_square_xs\" alt=\"A collage with a DNA strand, a virus, a tomato, an airplane, an autonomous car, and the text &quot;The Unlimited Horizon 8&quot; on a grid background.\" sizes=\"80px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/unlimited-horizon_pt-2.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/unlimited-horizon_pt-2.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/unlimited-horizon_pt-2.jpg?resize=120,120 120w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/unlimited-horizon_pt-2.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/unlimited-horizon_pt-2.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/unlimited-horizon_pt-2.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/unlimited-horizon_pt-2.jpg?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/unlimited-horizon_pt-2.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w\" \/>                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                    <div class=\"flex-grow-1\">\n                                                        <a class=\"font-archivo text-black dark:text-white dark:hover:text-white inline-block hover:text-black focus:text-black text-sm tracking-tight leading-4 font-bold line-clamp-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/opinion\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-8-section-2\">\n                                                            What if humans mastered every aspect of nature?                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/div>\n                                            <\/div>\n                                                                                        <div class=\"block b-css__slide swiper-slide w-72\">\n                                                <div class=\"flex gap-4\">\n                                                    <div class=\"text-bold w-20 flex-shrink-0\">\n                                                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/artificial-intelligence\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-8-section-1\">\n                                                            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/THM-8.1-lead-the-unlimited-horizon2.jpg?quality=75&amp;w=80&amp;h=80&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-preview_square_xs size-preview_square_xs\" alt=\"Abstract geometric design with red and black grid patterns, a central white rectangle displaying the text &quot;The Unlimited Horizon,&quot; and the number 8 in the top right corner.\" sizes=\"80px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/THM-8.1-lead-the-unlimited-horizon2.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/THM-8.1-lead-the-unlimited-horizon2.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/THM-8.1-lead-the-unlimited-horizon2.jpg?resize=120,120 120w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/THM-8.1-lead-the-unlimited-horizon2.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/THM-8.1-lead-the-unlimited-horizon2.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/THM-8.1-lead-the-unlimited-horizon2.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/THM-8.1-lead-the-unlimited-horizon2.jpg?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/THM-8.1-lead-the-unlimited-horizon2.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w\" \/>                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                    <div class=\"flex-grow-1\">\n                                                        <a class=\"font-archivo text-black dark:text-white dark:hover:text-white inline-block hover:text-black focus:text-black text-sm tracking-tight leading-4 font-bold line-clamp-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/artificial-intelligence\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-8-section-1\">\n                                                            AI can dramatically expand human agency                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/div>\n                                            <\/div>\n                                                                                        <div class=\"block b-css__slide swiper-slide w-72\">\n                                                <div class=\"flex gap-4\">\n                                                    <div class=\"text-bold w-20 flex-shrink-0\">\n                                                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/the-material-world\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-7-section-3\">\n                                                            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-problem-solving-animal-pt3.jpg?quality=75&amp;w=80&amp;h=80&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-preview_square_xs size-preview_square_xs\" alt=\"A collage featuring cows, a molecule model, charts, machinery, and the text &quot;The Problem-Solving Animal&quot; with the number 7 on a grid background.\" sizes=\"80px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-problem-solving-animal-pt3.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-problem-solving-animal-pt3.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-problem-solving-animal-pt3.jpg?resize=120,120 120w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-problem-solving-animal-pt3.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-problem-solving-animal-pt3.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-problem-solving-animal-pt3.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-problem-solving-animal-pt3.jpg?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/the-problem-solving-animal-pt3.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w\" \/>                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                    <div class=\"flex-grow-1\">\n                                                        <a class=\"font-archivo text-black dark:text-white dark:hover:text-white inline-block hover:text-black focus:text-black text-sm tracking-tight leading-4 font-bold line-clamp-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/the-material-world\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-7-section-3\">\n                                                            Problem-solving is fundamental to human nature                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/div>\n                                            <\/div>\n                                                                                        <div class=\"block b-css__slide swiper-slide w-72\">\n                                                <div class=\"flex gap-4\">\n                                                    <div class=\"text-bold w-20 flex-shrink-0\">\n                                                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/the-material-world\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-7-section-2\">\n                                                            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LEAD-the-problem-solving-animal-pt2.jpg?quality=75&amp;w=80&amp;h=80&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-preview_square_xs size-preview_square_xs\" alt=\"A collage of scientific and technological images surrounds the text &quot;The Problem-Solving Animal&quot; and the number 7 on a grid-patterned background.\" sizes=\"80px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LEAD-the-problem-solving-animal-pt2.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LEAD-the-problem-solving-animal-pt2.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LEAD-the-problem-solving-animal-pt2.jpg?resize=120,120 120w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LEAD-the-problem-solving-animal-pt2.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LEAD-the-problem-solving-animal-pt2.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LEAD-the-problem-solving-animal-pt2.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LEAD-the-problem-solving-animal-pt2.jpg?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LEAD-the-problem-solving-animal-pt2.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w\" \/>                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                    <div class=\"flex-grow-1\">\n                                                        <a class=\"font-archivo text-black dark:text-white dark:hover:text-white inline-block hover:text-black focus:text-black text-sm tracking-tight leading-4 font-bold line-clamp-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/the-material-world\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-7-section-2\">\n                                                            It\u2019s far too early to call &#8220;peak ideas&#8221;                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/div>\n                                            <\/div>\n                                                                                        <div class=\"block b-css__slide swiper-slide w-72\">\n                                                <div class=\"flex gap-4\">\n                                                    <div class=\"text-bold w-20 flex-shrink-0\">\n                                                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/the-material-world\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-7-section-1\">\n                                                            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-problem-solving-animal_compressed.jpg?quality=75&amp;w=80&amp;h=80&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-preview_square_xs size-preview_square_xs\" alt=\"A graphic featuring industrial machinery, a historic portrait, Earth, and the text &quot;The Problem-Solving Animal 7&quot; on a grid background in orange and beige tones.\" sizes=\"80px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-problem-solving-animal_compressed.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-problem-solving-animal_compressed.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-problem-solving-animal_compressed.jpg?resize=120,120 120w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-problem-solving-animal_compressed.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-problem-solving-animal_compressed.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-problem-solving-animal_compressed.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-problem-solving-animal_compressed.jpg?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-problem-solving-animal_compressed.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w\" \/>                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                    <div class=\"flex-grow-1\">\n                                                        <a class=\"font-archivo text-black dark:text-white dark:hover:text-white inline-block hover:text-black focus:text-black text-sm tracking-tight leading-4 font-bold line-clamp-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/the-material-world\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-7-section-1\">\n                                                            Predictions of resource scarcity have a fundamental flaw                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/div>\n                                            <\/div>\n                                                                                        <div class=\"block b-css__slide swiper-slide w-72\">\n                                                <div class=\"flex gap-4\">\n                                                    <div class=\"text-bold w-20 flex-shrink-0\">\n                                                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/the-material-world\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-6\">\n                                                            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/THM-chp6_lead_the-flywheel-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;w=80&amp;h=80&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-preview_square_xs size-preview_square_xs\" alt=\"Collage with stone tools, a flywheel, a vintage train, and a graph on a grid background; text reads \u201cThe Flywheel\u201d with the number 6 in the top right corner.\" sizes=\"80px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/THM-chp6_lead_the-flywheel-1.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/THM-chp6_lead_the-flywheel-1.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/THM-chp6_lead_the-flywheel-1.jpg?resize=120,120 120w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/THM-chp6_lead_the-flywheel-1.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/THM-chp6_lead_the-flywheel-1.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/THM-chp6_lead_the-flywheel-1.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/THM-chp6_lead_the-flywheel-1.jpg?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/THM-chp6_lead_the-flywheel-1.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w\" \/>                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                    <div class=\"flex-grow-1\">\n                                                        <a class=\"font-archivo text-black dark:text-white dark:hover:text-white inline-block hover:text-black focus:text-black text-sm tracking-tight leading-4 font-bold line-clamp-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/the-material-world\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-6\">\n                                                            Why progress was so slow, for so long                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/div>\n                                            <\/div>\n                                                                                        <div class=\"block b-css__slide swiper-slide w-72\">\n                                                <div class=\"flex gap-4\">\n                                                    <div class=\"text-bold w-20 flex-shrink-0\">\n                                                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/energy\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-5-section-3\">\n                                                            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/LEAD-IMAGE_THM-5.3-solutionism-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;w=80&amp;h=80&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-preview_square_xs size-preview_square_xs\" alt=\"Collage with house roof solar panels, abstract spheres, red planets, forest, and industrial smoke, centered text: &quot;Solutionism,&quot; with a checkered background.\" sizes=\"80px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/LEAD-IMAGE_THM-5.3-solutionism-1.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/LEAD-IMAGE_THM-5.3-solutionism-1.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/LEAD-IMAGE_THM-5.3-solutionism-1.jpg?resize=120,120 120w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/LEAD-IMAGE_THM-5.3-solutionism-1.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/LEAD-IMAGE_THM-5.3-solutionism-1.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/LEAD-IMAGE_THM-5.3-solutionism-1.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/LEAD-IMAGE_THM-5.3-solutionism-1.jpg?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/LEAD-IMAGE_THM-5.3-solutionism-1.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w\" \/>                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                    <div class=\"flex-grow-1\">\n                                                        <a class=\"font-archivo text-black dark:text-white dark:hover:text-white inline-block hover:text-black focus:text-black text-sm tracking-tight leading-4 font-bold line-clamp-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/energy\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-5-section-3\">\n                                                            &#8220;Stopping climate change&#8221; is the wrong goal                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/div>\n                                            <\/div>\n                                                                                        <div class=\"block b-css__slide swiper-slide w-72\">\n                                                <div class=\"flex gap-4\">\n                                                    <div class=\"text-bold w-20 flex-shrink-0\">\n                                                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/the-material-world\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-5-section-2\">\n                                                            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_4331.png?quality=75&amp;w=80&amp;h=80&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-preview_square_xs size-preview_square_xs\" alt=\"Collage with &quot;Solutionism&quot; text, vintage portraits, smoggy cityscape, glove holding a white mouse, and the number 5, featuring orange and beige geometric patterns.\" sizes=\"80px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_4331.png?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_4331.png?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_4331.png?resize=120,120 120w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_4331.png?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_4331.png?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_4331.png?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_4331.png?resize=900,900 900w\" \/>                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                    <div class=\"flex-grow-1\">\n                                                        <a class=\"font-archivo text-black dark:text-white dark:hover:text-white inline-block hover:text-black focus:text-black text-sm tracking-tight leading-4 font-bold line-clamp-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/the-material-world\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-5-section-2\">\n                                                            Progress happens because solutions create new problems to solve                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/div>\n                                            <\/div>\n                                                                                        <div class=\"block b-css__slide swiper-slide w-72\">\n                                                <div class=\"flex gap-4\">\n                                                    <div class=\"text-bold w-20 flex-shrink-0\">\n                                                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/the-material-world\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-5-section-1\">\n                                                            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/solutionism-header.jpg?quality=75&amp;w=80&amp;h=80&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-preview_square_xs size-preview_square_xs\" alt=\"A collage featuring scientific diagrams, a man&#039;s face with a mustache, wheat, and industrial imagery, overlaid with the word &quot;Solutionism&quot; and the number 5.\" sizes=\"80px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/solutionism-header.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/solutionism-header.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/solutionism-header.jpg?resize=120,120 120w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/solutionism-header.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/solutionism-header.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/solutionism-header.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/solutionism-header.jpg?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/solutionism-header.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w\" \/>                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                    <div class=\"flex-grow-1\">\n                                                        <a class=\"font-archivo text-black dark:text-white dark:hover:text-white inline-block hover:text-black focus:text-black text-sm tracking-tight leading-4 font-bold line-clamp-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/the-material-world\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-5-section-1\">\n                                                            Blind optimism is not a cure for blind pessimism                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/div>\n                                            <\/div>\n                                                                                        <div class=\"block b-css__slide swiper-slide w-72\">\n                                                <div class=\"flex gap-4\">\n                                                    <div class=\"text-bold w-20 flex-shrink-0\">\n                                                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/society\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-4-section-2\">\n                                                            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/9-Reclaim-Meaning-Header-Image-For-Article.png?quality=75&amp;w=80&amp;h=80&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-preview_square_xs size-preview_square_xs\" alt=\"Collage featuring hands holding a leaf, overlapping hands, and the text &quot;Reclaim Meaning&quot; with a grid background.\" sizes=\"80px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/9-Reclaim-Meaning-Header-Image-For-Article.png?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/9-Reclaim-Meaning-Header-Image-For-Article.png?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/9-Reclaim-Meaning-Header-Image-For-Article.png?resize=120,120 120w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/9-Reclaim-Meaning-Header-Image-For-Article.png?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/9-Reclaim-Meaning-Header-Image-For-Article.png?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/9-Reclaim-Meaning-Header-Image-For-Article.png?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/9-Reclaim-Meaning-Header-Image-For-Article.png?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/9-Reclaim-Meaning-Header-Image-For-Article.png?resize=1200,1200 1200w\" \/>                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                    <div class=\"flex-grow-1\">\n                                                        <a class=\"font-archivo text-black dark:text-white dark:hover:text-white inline-block hover:text-black focus:text-black text-sm tracking-tight leading-4 font-bold line-clamp-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/society\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-4-section-2\">\n                                                            How to reclaim meaning in a changing world                                                        <\/a>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                <\/div>\n                                            <\/div>\n                                                                                <\/div>\n                                <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n                                                <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"f-block f-block--feature-content-header f-block--tighter b-fch f-block--wide\">\n    <div class=\"f-block__inner\">\n        <div class=\"f-block__content f-block__content--no-grid\">\n                            <div class=\"container px-5 mx-auto gap-x-5 sm:px-7 md:px-10 ftm-grid sm:gap-x-10 md:gap-x-14 lg:mt-8 mb-6 xl:mb-8\">\n                    <div class=\"order-1 col-span-8 lg:col-span-6\">\n                                                <h1 class=\"mb-4 h1 sm:pr-8 md:pr-12 xl:pr-16\">If progress has stalled, we need to know why<\/h1>                        <h2 class=\"mb-6 h5 sm:pr-8 md:pr-12 xl:pr-16 xl:mb-0\">Only then will we know what, if anything, we can do to re-accelerate it.<\/h2>\n                        <div class=\"mt-3 xl:hidden\">\n                            <div class=\"meta mb-4\">\n\t<div class=\"meta__byline\"><span class=\"cover-text\">By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/people\/jason-crawford\" class=\"font-bold\">Jason Crawford<\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"meta__date meta__date--published\"><time datetime=\"2025-05-22T13:57:45-04:00\"><span class=\"cover-text\">May 22, 2025<\/span><\/time><\/div><\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n                        \n                    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src=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-flywheel_pt2-thumb.jpg?quality=75&amp;w=330\" class=\"exclude-lazy\" alt=\"A collage featuring a hand using a smartphone, two men speaking into microphones, a vintage desktop computer, and a graph, with the text &quot;The Flywheel&quot; in the center.\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1366px) 488px, (min-width: 834px) calc(33vw - 40px), calc(100vw - 40px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-flywheel_pt2-thumb.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-flywheel_pt2-thumb.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-flywheel_pt2-thumb.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-flywheel_pt2-thumb.jpg?resize=320,180 320w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-flywheel_pt2-thumb.jpg?resize=600,338 600w, 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https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-flywheel_pt2-thumb.jpg?resize=850,478 850w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-flywheel_pt2-thumb.jpg?resize=175,98 175w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-flywheel_pt2-thumb.jpg?resize=275,155 275w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-flywheel_pt2-thumb.jpg?resize=400,225 400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-flywheel_pt2-thumb.jpg?resize=360,203 360w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/the-flywheel_pt2-thumb.jpg?resize=500,281 500w\" \/>                                <\/div>\n                                                            <\/figure>\n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                \n                            <div class=\"container px-5 mx-auto sm:px-7 md:px-10 gap-9 hidden xl:grid xgrid-cols-4 xsm:grid-cols-6 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encoding=\"UTF-8\"?>\n<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\" viewBox=\"0 0 32 32\">\n  <path d=\"M24.8392 3H29.2861L19.571 14.0133L31 29H22.0512L15.0421 19.9107L7.0222 29H2.57266L12.9639 17.22L2 3H11.176L17.5116 11.308L24.8392 3ZM23.2785 26.36H25.7426L9.83711 5.50133H7.19293L23.2785 26.36Z\"><\/path>\n<\/svg>\n                <div class=\"sr-only\">\n                    Share If progress has stalled, we need to know why on Twitter (X)                <\/div>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/li>\n        <li class=\"share__li share__li--fb\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/the-material-world\/techno-humanist-manifesto-chapter-6-section-2\" class=\"share__link share__link--facebook\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\n            <?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?>\n<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" height=\"32\" viewBox=\"0 0 32 32\" width=\"32\">\n  <path d=\"m19 6h5v-6h-5c-3.86 0-7 3.14-7 7v3h-4v6h4v16h6v-16h5l1-6h-6v-3c0-.542.458-1 1-1z\"><\/path>\n<\/svg>\n                <div class=\"sr-only\">\n                    Share If progress has stalled, we need to know why on Facebook                <\/div>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/li>\n    <\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>    \n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p><em>The following is Chapter 6, Section 2, from the book\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/newsletter.rootsofprogress.org\/p\/announcing-the-techno-humanist-manifesto\"><em>The Techno-Humanist Manifesto<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0by Jason Crawford, Founder of the Roots of Progress Institute. The entirety of the book will be published on Freethink, one week at a time. For more from Jason, subscribe to his Substack<\/em>\u00a0<em>below<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"f-block f-block--inline-newsletter-prompt f-block--tighter b-inp mb-8\">\n    <div class=\"f-block__inner\">\n        <div class=\"bg-gray-100 dark:bg-gray-800 text-black dark:text-white p-5 lg:p-6 xl:p-7 2xl:p-8\">\n            <div class=\"mb-3.5\">\n                <div class=\"font-archivo text-base font-bold leading-tight md:text-base lg:text-lg xl:text-xl md:leading-tight lg:leading-tight dark:text-white mb-0.5\">\n                        Sign up for Roots of Progress Substack \n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n                <div class=\"dark:text-white\">\n                        The history of technology and the philosophy of progress\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n            <div>\n                <a class=\"btn btn--bg-blue\" data-trackeraction=\"click-out\" href=\"https:\/\/newsletter.rootsofprogress.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\tSubscribe now\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n            <\/div>\n         <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In part 1, we saw that the long-term pattern of growth is one of acceleration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the standard disclaimer for financial investments also applies to human progress: past performance does not guarantee future results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Indeed, some claim that growth in the West has <em>already<\/em> slowed, at least compared to its peak around the first half of the 20th century. Tyler Cowen wrote a book with this thesis, <em>The Great Stagnation:<\/em><sup>1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n<div \n\tclass=\"f-block f-block--blockquote f-block---simple f-blockquote border-l-10 border-gray-200 pl-7 dark:border-gray-800 dark:text-gray-200 text-gray-800 f-content\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<p>Today \u2026 apart from the seemingly magical internet, life in broad material terms isn\u2019t so different from what it was in 1953. We still drive cars, use refrigerators, and turn on the light switch, even if dimmers are more common these days. \u2026 Life is better and we have more stuff, but the pace of change has slowed down compared to what people saw two or three generations ago.<sup>1<\/sup><\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Cowen had been influenced by conversations with Peter Thiel, who leads the VC firm Founder\u2019s Fund.<sup>2<\/sup> Around the same time, Founders Fund published a manifesto, \u201cWhat Happened to the Future?\u201d, with a subtitle that became a Silicon Valley catchphrase: \u201cWe wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters.&#8221;<sup>3<\/sup>  A few years later, in an interview with Cowen, Thiel said:<\/p>\n\n\n<div \n\tclass=\"f-block f-block--blockquote f-block---simple f-blockquote border-l-10 border-gray-200 pl-7 dark:border-gray-800 dark:text-gray-200 text-gray-800 f-content\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<p>I think we\u2019ve had a lot of innovation in computers, information technology, Internet, mobile Internet in the world of bits. Not so much in the world of atoms, supersonic travel, space travel, new forms of energy, new forms of medicine, new medical devices, etc.<sup>4<\/sup><\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In <em>The Rise and Fall of American Growth, <\/em>Robert Gordon surveyed American economic progress over almost 150 years, and concluded that living standards had improved faster from 1870 to 1970 than they have in the decades since:<\/p>\n\n\n<div \n\tclass=\"f-block f-block--blockquote f-block---simple f-blockquote border-l-10 border-gray-200 pl-7 dark:border-gray-800 dark:text-gray-200 text-gray-800 f-content\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<p>[E]conomic growth since 1970 has been simultaneously dazzling and disappointing. \u2026 advances since 1970 have tended to be channeled into a narrow sphere of human activity having to do with entertainment, communications, and the collection and processing of information. For the rest of what humans care about\u2014food, clothing, shelter, transportation, health, and working conditions both inside and outside the home\u2014progress slowed down after 1970, both qualitatively and quantitatively.<sup>5<\/sup><\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Knowing how much progress has been made in recent decades, I was initially skeptical about claims of stagnation. \u201cWe wanted flying cars, instead we got a supercomputer in everyone\u2019s pocket and a global communications network to connect everyone on the planet to each other and to the whole of the world\u2019s knowledge and culture\u201d\u2014when you put it that way, it doesn\u2019t sound so bad.<sup>6<\/sup> But I was eventually convinced by a systematic survey of the evidence. Progress has not ground to a halt, nor is it even slow compared to the pre-industrial era, but in the US at least, it has slowed relative to its peak in the late 19th to mid-20th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The slowdown can be seen from economic statistics. Gordon points out that growth in output per hour has fallen from an average annual rate of 2.82% in the period 1920\u20131970, to 1.62% in 1970\u20132014.<sup>7<\/sup>  He also analyzes TFP (total factor productivity, a residual calculated by subtracting out increases in capital and labor from GDP growth; what remains is assumed to represent productivity growth from technology). Annual TFP growth averaged 1.89% from 1920\u20131970, but closer to 0.5% since then, with the exception of a partially accelerated decade 1994\u20132004:<sup>8<\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;w=1600\" alt=\"Bar chart showing annualized total factor productivity growth rates for five periods from 1890 to 2014, peaking at 1.89% during 1928-1970 and lowest at 0.40% in 2004-2014.\" class=\"wp-image-116148\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=768,768 768w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=1536,1536 1536w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=320,320 320w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=1000,1000 1000w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=1400,1400 1400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=120,120 120w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=330,330 330w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=540,540 540w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=850,850 850w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=175,175 175w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=275,275 275w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=360,360 360w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-1-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=500,500 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s another view of TFP, extended to the 2020s (note the log scale; straight lines indicate constant growth rates):<sup>9<\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;w=1600\" alt=\"Line graph showing U.S. total factor productivity from 1947 to 2021; actual growth lags behind the pre-1973 trend, highlighting a period labeled &quot;The Great Stagnation.\" class=\"wp-image-116146\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=768,768 768w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=1536,1536 1536w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=320,320 320w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=1000,1000 1000w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=1400,1400 1400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=120,120 120w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=330,330 330w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=540,540 540w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=850,850 850w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=175,175 175w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=275,275 275w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=360,360 360w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-2-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=500,500 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Measuring growth is hard. GDP is not a measure of economic production, and it does not capture consumer surplus: since you don\u2019t pay for articles on Wikipedia, searches on Google, or entertainment on YouTube, a shift to these services away from paid ones actually <em>shrinks<\/em> GDP, but it represents consumer benefit and progress. Estimates of the consumer surplus of the internet, however, \u201care at least an order of magnitude smaller than the trillions of dollars of measured output lost to the productivity slowdown.\u201d<sup>10<\/sup>  Further, Gordon points out that GDP has <em>never<\/em> captured consumer surplus, and there has been plenty of surplus in the past, such as free radio and television broadcasting, or the value of a patient\u2019s life versus the cost of the penicillin that saved them. Nor is it only services or information technology that can deliver large consumer surplus: the refrigerator made food safer and gave us greater variety in our diets; the automobile cleared city streets of horse manure and urine.<sup>11<\/sup>  Altogether, it seems unlikely that unmeasured value creation can explain the GDP growth slowdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other, less ambiguous metrics have also stagnated. The most striking is US energy usage per capita, which grew steadily for well over a century before flatlining around 1970.<sup>12<\/sup> Some of this is the result of increased energy efficiency, but there was also improved energy efficiency in the past, and it\u2019s implausible that greater efficiency can fully account for the ever-widening gap between the previous growth curve and actual usage, or that flat or declining resource usage is optimal for progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1601\" height=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;w=1601\" alt=\"Line graph showing kilowatts per capita from 1800 to 2010, with actual energy use (blue line) and the Henry Adams curve (red line) both trending upward.\" class=\"wp-image-116147\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg 1601w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=768,768 768w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=1536,1536 1536w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=320,320 320w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=1000,999 1000w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=1400,1399 1400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=80,80 80w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=120,120 120w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=330,330 330w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=540,540 540w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=850,849 850w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=175,175 175w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=275,275 275w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=360,360 360w, https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/THM-6.2-Image-3-STYLIZED-FINAL-1.jpg?resize=500,500 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1601px) 100vw, 1601px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We can also see the slowdown qualitatively. Compare the last 50 years, 1975\u20132025, to the equivalent period a century earlier, 1875\u20131925. The last half-century has seen a revolution in information technology: the PC, the Internet, the smartphone. But in the earlier period, we <em>also<\/em> had a revolution in information technology: the telephone and the radio. And on top of that, we had the entire electrical power industry, including generators, light bulbs, and motors; the internal combustion engine, and the vehicles it made possible: the automobile and the airplane; the first synthetic plastics and fertilizers; and the establishment of the germ theory and its applications to public health, including improved water sanitation and some of the first vaccines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The last 50 years have seen no comparable advances in manufacturing, energy, or transportation. There have been no new materials to replace steel, concrete, or plastic; no new power source to replace the internal combustion engine or the electric motor; no new vehicles to replace the automobile or the airplane. Our planes actually fly a bit slower than they used to.<sup>13<\/sup>  We haven\u2019t ended any major diseases, the way we eliminated smallpox, malaria, or polio. One might argue about whether computers and the Internet are more or less of a revolution than telephone and radio, but it\u2019s hard to maintain that a revolution in one field, or even two, is greater than five revolutions stacked together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consider also the technologies that were expected, but never arrived or haven\u2019t come to fruition; or those that were launched, but aborted or stunted. Nuclear power was supposed to deliver cheap, abundant, reliable, clean energy, and it was on a strong growth trajectory until the 1970s\u2014after which it stalled and plateaued at about 20% of US electricity generation.<sup>14<\/sup>  The Concorde offered supersonic passenger travel, but it was never affordable to the middle class, and service was canceled in 2003.<sup>15<\/sup>  The Apollo program promised a new Space Age, but after planting our flag on the Moon, no human has set foot there since 1972.<sup>16<\/sup> A \u201cWar on Cancer\u201d was declared in 1971; more than 50 years later, despite significant progress in mortality rates, we are still searching for a cure.<sup>17<\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Is all this just a blip in the long-run trend of acceleration, one that future economic historians will barely notice on their zoomed-out charts? Or is it the beginning of a historic reversal? Tyler Cowen saw the \u201cgreat stagnation\u201d as temporary: around the time of his book, he predicted that it would end within twenty years.<sup>18<\/sup>  Peter Thiel tends to blame \u201csomething in the culture that\u2019s changed that makes us less ambitious, more risk-averse, more scared to try to do things,\u201d and in particular a culture \u201cthat dislikes science and technology in just about all its forms.\u201d<sup>19<\/sup>  In this view, stagnation can be reversed, but only by our will. Robert Gordon, in contrast, calls himself \u201cthe prophet of pessimism.\u201d<sup>20<\/sup>  He sees no opportunities to improve life in the future as much as it was improved before 1970, and he notes that the social trends that contributed to growth, such as increasing education rates and women entering the workforce, have reached natural limits and plateaued.<sup>21<\/sup> In a 2013 TED talk, he proclaimed \u201cThe Death of Innovation, the End of Growth.\u201d<sup>22<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In any case, if progress <em>has<\/em> stalled, that makes it all the more urgent to understand what drives it, what might cause it to slow down or stop, and what if anything we can do to re-accelerate it. In the next chapter, we\u2019ll consider some of the most common reasons for skepticism about continued growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>To be continued in Chapter 7.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>1. Cowen, <em>The Great Stagnation<\/em>, Kindle location 92.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2. Cowen thanks Thiel in the acknowledgments, and dedicates the book to him and Michael Mandel, \u201cwho have blazed the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>3. Gibney, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/foundersfund.com\/the-future\">What happened to the future?<\/a>\u201d; Gobry, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/founders-fund-the-future-2011-7\">Facebook Investor wants Flying Cars, Not 140 Characters<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>4. Cowen, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/conversationswithtyler.com\/episodes\/peter-thiel\/%20\">Peter Thiel on Stagnation, Innovation, and What Not To Name Your Company<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>5. Gordon, <em>The Rise and Fall of American Growth<\/em>, 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>6. Crawford, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.rootsofprogress.org\/technological-stagnation\">Technological Stagnation<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>7. Gordon, <em>Rise and Fall<\/em>, Table 18-4, 637.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>8. Gordon, <em>Rise and Fall,<\/em> 575.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>9. Dourado, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.elidourado.com\/about\">U.S. Total Factor Productivity<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>10. Syverson, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/pubs.aeaweb.org\/doi\/pdfplus\/10.1257\/jep.31.2.165\">Challenges to Mismeasurement Explanations<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>11. Gordon, <em>Rise and Fall<\/em>, 242\u20134, 320\u20132.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>12. J. Storrs Hall, <em>Where Is My Flying Car?,<\/em> 81. Because the growth in this metric was mentioned in the autobiography of Henry Adams (grandson of John Quincy Adams), Hall calls the long-term trend of about 7% annual growth in total energy usage the \u201cHenry Adams Curve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>13. Ledsom, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/alexledsom\/2022\/12\/08\/why-is-your-flight-slower-today-than-ever-before\/\">Why Is Your Flight Today Slower Today Than Ever Before?<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>14. Lang, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2899971\">Nuclear Power Learning and Deployment Rates<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>15. Gray, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.europeanceo.com\/business-and-management\/concorde-nothing-more-than-a-footnote-in-europes-history\/#:~:text=Few%20people%20would%20be%20able,away%20from%20pricey%2C%20luxury%20travel\">Concorde: Nothing More Than a Footnote<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>16. Neufeld, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/airandspace.si.edu\/stories\/editorial\/why-50-years-since-humans-went-moon\">Why Has It Been 50 Years Since Humans Went to the Moon?<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>17. Nixon signed the National Cancer Act in 1971; the media dubbed it a \u201cwar on cancer.\u201d \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nixonfoundation.org\/2021\/02\/cancer-act-50th\/%20\">National Cancer Act 50th Anniversary<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>18. Cowen, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/marginalrevolution.com\/marginalrevolution\/2020\/11\/is-the-great-stagnation-over.html\">Is the Great Stagnation Over?<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>19. Kristol, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/conversationswithbillkristol.org\/transcript\/peter-thiel-transcript\/\">Transcript of Peter Thiel<\/a>\u201d; Theroux, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.org\/news\/event-transcripts\/developing-the-developed-world\/%20\">Developing the Developed World<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>20. Wellisz, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.imf.org\/external\/pubs\/ft\/fandd\/2017\/06\/people.htm\">Prophet of Pessimism<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>21. Gordon, <em>Rise and Fall<\/em>, 641\u20132.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>22. Gordon, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ted.com\/talks\/robert_gordon_the_death_of_innovation_the_end_of_growth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Death of Innovation, The End of Growth<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We need to figure out what drives progress, what might cause it to slow down or stop, and what, if anything, we can do to re-accelerate it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":116150,"template":"","ftm_taxonomy_fields":[79],"ftm_taxonomy_challenges":[],"ftm_taxonomy_statuses":[],"ftm_taxonomy_hidden_tags":[1965],"class_list":["post-116139","ftm_article","type-ftm_article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","ftm_taxonomy_fields-economics"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.9 (Yoast SEO v26.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>If progress has stalled, we need to know 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