Making Progress

by C. Leigh Anderson (Contributor), D.L. Birchfield (editor), Janet W. Looney (Editor)

While a universal definition of 'progress' has proved elusive, measures of progress have been defined and grouped, into the broad areas of material wealth; social relations; technical capacity; and moral, aesthetic, and intellectual sensibilities. However, not until the 'Progress Project,' whose results are gathered here, has the impact of progress on public policy in these realms been systematically explored. In this volume, noted scholars in economics, government, education, technology, literature, culture, and religion, among other fields, discuss the meaning and measurement of progress in their areas of specialty. They assess particular policies that have either promoted or retarded progress and provide recommendations for policy processes or instruments that better reflect the nature of forward movement in the current era. Making Progress is an important contribution to both the theoretical and practical literature on public policy; it is a resource for scholars and students as well as a guide for policymakers, analysts, and advocates who help craft those policies in the name of progress.

488 pages, Hardcover

First published November 23, 2002