Progress is not what it used to be

“The idea of ​​common and shared progress no longer manages to unite the majority of Western populations. About twenty personalities analyze this crisis and try to provide answers.

About the. Progress is no longer a dream. The fourth industrial revolution, driven by digital technology and biotechnologies, creates as much if not more anxiety than hopes. The optimism of the Thirty Glorious Years has vanished, and the Covid-19 pandemic is further fueling fears and mistrust on all sides, against 5G, vaccines or artificial intelligence. But how to reinvent progress? This book brings together the responses of some twenty personalities, scientists, politicians, entrepreneurs, heads of NGOs or academics.

The interest. The theme is fascinating, and the diversity of the texts makes it possible to treat it from multiple angles, often with talent. We can salute, among others, the contributions of Etienne Klein (on the links between science and progress), Alain Clot (on the notion of innovation, which tends to replace that of progress among digital players), 'Emmanuel Bloch (on ethics) or Najat Vallaud-Belkacem (on the need for global governance). Others, like Othman Alaoui or Luc Ferry, unfortunately miss the point. »

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