Modern life is, in many ways, founded around the idea of progress: the notion that as we know more (especially about science and technology), and as economies grow larger, we’re bound to end up happier. Particularly in the 18th century, as European societies and their economies became increasingly complex, the conventional view was that mankind was firmly set on a positive trajectory; moving away from savagery and ignorance towards prosperity and civility. But there was at least one 18th-century philosopher who was prepared to vigorously question the ‘Idea of Progress’ – and who continues to
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