About the project The goal of driving more progress across the world—scientifically, politically, economically, socially, etc—is one shared by many. And yet, debates about the best way to maximize progress […]

About the project The goal of driving more progress across the world—scientifically, politically, economically, socially, etc—is one shared by many. And yet, debates about the best way to maximize progress […]

If our goal is to effect the greatest possible progress, what would it look like to approach this holistically? What might need to dispositionaly in how we approach solving our most important problems—at an individual level, a community level, or at a civilizational or global one? We asked our experts to think big picture about how what new thinking would be required to create a larger pro-progress framework.

Democracy is in decline, regardless of how we measure it.

The East India Company issued stocks to minimize the risk on their unpredictable but highly lucrative voyages. The rest is history.

There are nearly 100 towns named "Troy."

Kublai Khan wasn’t the first ruler in history to issue paper money, but his Yuan dynasty did take unprecedented action to ensure this revolutionary form of currency retained its value.

How far should we boldy go?

"Strategic ambiguity" has long been the West's strategy on Taiwan.

It’s all about salesmanship.

An upstart third party is unlikely to dislodge the status quo in the current system.

For a time, Francis Fukuyama looked like a prophet.

NASA was dangerously cavalier about the dangers of the shuttle launches.

Commodus lived the anti-Stoic life, pursuing lust, narcissism, and self-indulgence.

"Politics is weird. It’s the only business in the world in which you take a really, really important position, and you give it to someone with no qualifications." —Tony Blair

Can Detroit get its comeback right?

In 200 years, the mortality rate for children under the age of five (per 1,000 live births) has dropped from 40% to 3.7%.

Our economy is dominated by middlemen, including huge companies such as Walmart and Amazon. There are many benefits to going direct instead.

A dispute marked by flags and booze has been replaced with an official land border.

Privateers pillaged British merchant ships in the name of liberty — and profit.

Singapore is a breeding ground of truly green buildings.

Presidential gravesites are spread out “democratically” — but this is more by accident than design.

Today, we could use Big Data to radically reform democracy. Tomorrow, we could build nanofabricators and usher in an era of abundance. Is society ready?

Germany finds itself once again allowing a murderous dictator to run rampant in Europe, though this time it is due to incompetence and technophobia rather than malice.

Africa has the most universities in the 2022 rankings with over two thirds of the world’s youngest universities.

Recent geopolitical turning points, like Brexit and the 2016 U.S. presidential election, were chapters in a story that extends decades back in world history.

Some economists predict China's economy will overtake the U.S. economy by 2028.

One particular revolution was so important, that at least one historian thinks the 20th century officially began in 1914 and ended in 1991.

Although saying the wrong thing could often get you killed in ancient civilizations, history shows that the ideal of free speech has deep roots.

The U.S. has the world's largest debt in absolute terms, but Japan's is the largest when measured in terms of its debt-to-GDP ratio.