First, PS is almost anything but an academic discipline (even though that’s the context in which it was originally proposed). The term is a bit of a misnomer; I think more in terms of there being (right now) a progress community/movement.
I agree these things aren’t mutually exclusive, but there seems to be a tension or difference of opinion (or at least difference of emphasis/priority) between folks in the “progress studies” community, and those in the “longtermist EA” camp who worry about x-risk (sorry if I’m not using the terms with perfect precision). That’s what I’m getting at and trying to understand.
I make an argument here that marginal long run growth is dramatically less important than marginal x-risk. I’m not fully confident in it. But the crux could be what I highlight—whether society is on an endless track of exponential growth, or on the cusp of a fantastical but fundamentally limited successor stage. Put more precisely, the crux of the importance of x-risk is how good the future will be, whereas the crux of the importance of progress is whether differential growth today will mean much for the far future.
I would still ceteris paribus pick more growth rather than less, and from what I’ve seen of Progress Studies researchers, I trust them to know how to do that well.
It’s important to compare with long-term political and social change too. Arguably a higher priority than either effort, but also something that can be indirectly served by economic progress. One thing the progress studies discourse has persuaded me of is that there is some social and political malaise that arises when society stops growing. Healthy politics may require fast nonstop growth (though that is a worrying thing if true).
First, PS is almost anything but an academic discipline (even though that’s the context in which it was originally proposed). The term is a bit of a misnomer; I think more in terms of there being (right now) a progress community/movement.
I agree these things aren’t mutually exclusive, but there seems to be a tension or difference of opinion (or at least difference of emphasis/priority) between folks in the “progress studies” community, and those in the “longtermist EA” camp who worry about x-risk (sorry if I’m not using the terms with perfect precision). That’s what I’m getting at and trying to understand.
OK, sorry for misunderstanding.
I make an argument here that marginal long run growth is dramatically less important than marginal x-risk. I’m not fully confident in it. But the crux could be what I highlight—whether society is on an endless track of exponential growth, or on the cusp of a fantastical but fundamentally limited successor stage. Put more precisely, the crux of the importance of x-risk is how good the future will be, whereas the crux of the importance of progress is whether differential growth today will mean much for the far future.
I would still ceteris paribus pick more growth rather than less, and from what I’ve seen of Progress Studies researchers, I trust them to know how to do that well.
It’s important to compare with long-term political and social change too. Arguably a higher priority than either effort, but also something that can be indirectly served by economic progress. One thing the progress studies discourse has persuaded me of is that there is some social and political malaise that arises when society stops growing. Healthy politics may require fast nonstop growth (though that is a worrying thing if true).