Rethinking social progress in the 21st century

WHAT do we mean by social progress? That is the theme explored by the International Panel on Social Progress, a group of over 300 academics, including Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen. After four years of work, its report has finally been published last month by Cambridge University Press, with a useful summary at www.ipsp.org.

The definition of social change or progress is never neutral or value free, since different societies have diverse views on what constitutes a good or just society. As the report points out, the 20th century ideological struggles with two world wars and 21st century global financial crises have caused many to lose faith in socialism as well as trust in capitalism.