Is Progress Always Good?

We’re taught to believe that history moves forward — that reason, science, and reform steadily bend the “arc of the moral universe” toward justice. Public health doubled our lifespans, civil rights expanded dignity, unions gave us weekends, and technology reshaped daily life. These are real victories. But is “progress” always as liberating as it seems?

In this episode of American Socrates, Matt unpacks the Enlightenment’s faith in progress and sets it against Nietzsche’s hard critique. Nietzsche warned that progress often disguises control, breeds conformity, and makes us weaker — creating what he called the “last man,” content with comfort but stripped of greatness. Along the way, we touch on labor reforms, civil rights, suburban sprawl, social media activism, and Adorno & Horkheimer’s culture industry.

The clash matters now more than ever. Is progress empowering us, or taming us? Does it free us, or merely add new rules? And how can we tell the difference?

By the end, you’ll walk away with three practical questions for judging whether so-called progress is worth pursuing — in your own life, in your community, and in our world.

Keywords: philosophy podcast, Nietzsche, Enlightenment, progress, civil rights, critical thinking, culture industry, American Socrates