Human Progress - Real Progress?

Since man evolved on this planet he has been continuously trying to create conditions which he thinks are conducive to his growth and for improvement of his life.

There are many discoveries and inventions which have improved human life on earth. Every generation of humans have had it better than the last in terms of ease of living. Inventions such as fire, wheel, electricity have been astounding in their own right. Modern inventions like the internal combustion engine or electricity, telephone have indeed helped man to promote and consolidate his civilization. Others like aviation and space travel have taken humans even further.

But things are not as simple if we look a little deeper.  From the very first fire that was created by man ages ago the process of polluting the atmosphere began.  Whatever was burnt then, sent smoke into the air and thus began a process which continues to this day.  That fire may have caused a revolution in civilizational terms but today it has become a huge problem for mankind.

Human progress is marked by big discoveries and inventions. But in hindsight, it now seems all our inventions are mixed blessings.  One example can be the automobile. It was a big leap for man but came with a lot of caveats. Burning of fossil fuels has just added to our woes even if we can go from one place to another in less time and in more comfort today.  

Only recently Stephen Hawking said that man will have to leave this planet within the next hundred years and settle somewhere else if he has to survive. If man is supposed to have made progress all this time he has been on this planet, how is it that his own actions are compelling him to leave the planet. So what is progress? Is it our fulfilling of all our needs to our satisfaction?  Our cars, air conditioners, thermal power plants, all have made life on this planet very easy and convenient. These facilities are milestones in our progress as an intelligent race. However they cannot be taken for granted.

 A case in point could be the settlement of the American continent.  Before the white man came the native Red Indian was quite content with his simple, nomadic life. His wants were limited. His technology was just enough to sustain him. The native Indian lacked for nothing. Of course there was no education in the modern sense and therefore hardly any progress in his lifestyle. For centuries the American Indians were hunters and gatherers and would have continued in the same way if the white man had not come.

The white man brought the gun which eased hunting, the train and stagecoach eased travel and the telegraph which eased communication. But all this came at a price.  The American buffalo was all but wiped out. Ease of access led to mining for gold and other minerals, scarring the land. So has progress been good for the native American? He lost his livelihood and ended up on reservations. Similarly if the flora and fauna on this planet are left to their own ways, i.e. no human interference in nature, the planet would be way better off.  Case in point is the current lockdowns imposed due to the pandemic. It has been noticed that if left alone, the earth will recover itself from the ravages caused by human progress. 

Another example could be the ongoing debate in the field of medicine about the relation between level of LDL or bad cholesterol on heart disease in humans.  After years of research some drug companies and medical research institutes are arguing that there is no compelling evidence that reducing cholesterol prevents heart disease in humans. In fact it is the other way round. Low cholesterol levels have been found to be responsible for cardiovascular disease.  

So are we back to square one?  While this debate will continue in public fora for some time, we have to ask if any real progress was made after so many years of research and spending so much money.

Humans, being intelligent, cannot remain static like plants and animals. We have to make progress if we are to survive as a race. To cut a long story short and at the peril of sounding skeptical, the fundamental question to be asked is whether progress has accrued any real gains for humans.  If our survival on this planet is in question today because of our progress, then should we call ourselves a progressive race?