The Illusion Of Progress

What if progress cannot be defined by what we can measure, but in what we can't?

“The Illusion of Progress” serves as a powerful entry point into a critical examination of modern society’s definition of advancement. This thought-provoking video, narrated by Charles Eisenstein, challenges the conventional metrics of success and prosperity, such as GDP growth, technological advancements, and material wealth. It delves into the paradox of a society that, despite being richer in measurable assets, feels impoverished in aspects that truly contribute to human fulfillment and happiness.

Eisenstein invites viewers to question the prevailing narrative that equates progress with quantitative increases in consumption and wealth. He argues that this narrow focus has led to a significant loss in the quality of our relationships, the depth of our connections, and the richness of our experiences. The video explores how the relentless pursuit of measurable gains has resulted in a world filled with less flavor, less intimacy, and more isolation, despite the veneer of connectivity offered by digital technologies.

By contrasting the tangible metrics of progress with the intangible qualities that make life meaningful, such as joy, beauty, and authentic human connections, “The Illusion of Progress” sheds light on the hunger that persists in the hearts of individuals living in a materially abundant world. Eisenstein suggests that this hunger drives the endless cycle of consumption, leaving individuals feeling perpetually unsatisfied and disconnected.

The video ultimately calls for a reevaluation of what constitutes true progress, urging a shift towards values that foster a deeper sense of belonging, purpose, and connection to the natural world. It is a clarion call to rediscover the immeasurable aspects of life that truly enrich the human experience and to recognize that the path to healing ourselves and our society lies in understanding and embracing what we truly yearn for.

Our society has definitely become masters at increasing the amount of things we can measure – more and more money, more and more floor space per capita, more and more GDP, and less and less of the things that we can’t measure – how happy we are, levels of intimacy, the authenticity of our communication, aesthetic pleasure, how much beauty there is in our environment, fulfillment.

So that we come to a point where we are apparently very very rich. I just read an article in the Wall Street Journal about how civilization is such a great success. There are fewer people in poverty than there was a generation ago, fewer people getting killed in wars, there are fewer murders, fewer people dying of diseases, fewer people dying in plane crashes and car crashes, people are smarter, average IQ level is thirty points higher than it was 50 years ago, etc. etc.

Yeah, things are just great. Everything is great in terms of things that we measure but what about the things that we do not measure, or the things that we can’t measure, or the things that are unmeasurable.

So I think that we feel a lack of something but we don’t know what it is and all of these statistics about how rich we are, how privileged we are, how fortunate we are, these things are all telling us that you shouldn’t be unhappy, you are irrational for thinking something is missing.

But then we sometimes get a glimpse of what has been sacrificed in terms of what has been sacrificed in the pursuit of more and more and more.

We could talk about the industrial food system and how food is becoming less and less flavorful. We could talk about how our electronically mediated relationships are less intimate than when we saw people’s faces everyday. We could talk about the ugliness of the modern landscape, the big box stores, and the strip malls, and the auto dealerships, and the self storage units compared to the architecture that was quite normal a couple hundred years ago…

Something is missing. Something is not captured by our measurements.

And that leaves us hungry for this missing thing. That hunger is good for business. Because it drives the acquisition of whatever is already available which is more and more of the stuff we already have and no matter how much I get, I am still hungry. I still want something. For some people it turns into an addiction to literal stuff. What they really are is lonely. Because real existence is a function of relationship. The more relationships that you are in, the more you are held by community, the more present you are in the world. So, generally speaking, the robbery of the qualitative – beauty, intimacy, fulfillment, joy meaning, has primed us to be good consumers. And then we blame the symptom – blame the greed, blame the selfishness, blame the addiction – as if you weren’t actually hungry. Yeah, you’re hungry, just not for stuff, not hungry for the things that are offered, hungry for something else.

The good life is not lost forever though. We are recovering our memory of it and therefore no longer accepting the substitutes, and we feel grateful to those who have remembered the truth this whole time.

The loss of the immeasurable has caused deep wounds in us creating insatiable appetites for the closest substitutes…

We are hungry for adventure.

Society offers us video games.

We are hungry for authenticity.

Society offers us “reality TV.”

We are hungry for connection.

Society offers us shopping.

We are hungry for intimacy.

Society offers us pornography.

We are hungry to express our greatness.

Society offers us sports heroes.

We are hungry to feel excited by our work.

Society offers us coffee.

We are hungry to feel like we belong.

Society offers us drugs and alcohol.

We are hungry for meaning.

Society offers us jobs.

We are hungry to feel secure in the world.

Society offers us money.

To heal ourselves and our world, we must begin to understand both what we have lost and what we are really hungry for.

What is immeasureable to you?

 

Wow so beautifully presented of what we are really hungry at. So so true. ❤🎉”

“The logic result of a materialistic society without spirituality. Simple as that.”

So beautiful and words finally being said,hit all on the head,thank you so much,helps tremendously!❤”

“Such a poignant message in a critical time.”

“This is the most relevant youtube channel for personal and social change. Thank you so much for your work 🙂 I’m going to share this to my friends and family.”

“I would tell you how great that was and how you hit the nail on the so to speak, that your connections made were enlightening and how obviously you truly care. But I didn’t! So make more and I will applaud them all at the final finish. I will give you deep , thank you though.”

“One of the most important videos of all time”

“Thank you for this. The perfect example of what I’ve been trying to explain to others it couldn’t in correct format.”

“Wonderful video. Thank you very much for this. I so wish most of humanity could see this, so incredibly important and valuable.”

Music:

  • “African Dreams” by Richard Heacock
  • “Mystical Mountain” by Robert Meunier
  • “Sunset Hues” by Swan Productions

Read the article by Steven Pinker: “The Enlightenment Is Working

We bring your story to life

Find out how video storytelling can help your audience resonate with your sustainable idea, research, campaign or product.

Related stories

Is our pursuit of economic growth blinding us to ecological disaster? Discover how conventional economics could be leading us astray with David Suzuki.

Get our latest video releases
in your mailbox bi-weekly

We never send solicitations or junk mail and we never give your address to anyone else.

The following is a step by step guide to translating our videos.

How to translate sustainable human videos

Here is some instruction so you can easily translate the videos.

Required Tools:

- A Computer.
- Internet Connection.
- A basic text editor program like Notepad or Wordpad.

What Is a .SRT File?

A .SRT file extension is a SubRip Subtitle file. These types of files hold video subtitle information like the start and end timecodes of the text and the sequential number of subtitles.

Steps To Translate A Video

Step 1 : Locate the appropriate .SRT file.
In the embedded spreadsheet below, find the title of the video you wish to translate. Check to be sure that your language has not been translated yet.
Step-1

Download

Step 2: Download the SRT file.
Double-click on the .SRT file for the video you wish to translate. Click on the Download button.
Step-2
Step 3: Translate the file.
Open the file using any basic text editor program such as Notepad or Wordpad or equivalent. Do not open in Microsoft Word as it will corrupt the formatting. After opening the file, you want to REPLACE the English text with your language, line by line, keeping all numerical and time formatting. When you finish, rename the file with the name of the language you translated.
Step-3
Step 4: Upload your new .SRT file using form below.
When you submit your translation file and provide your email, we will inform you once we have uploaded it to the video. Please allow for 24-48 hours for us to do this as it is a manual process.

How has this video story impacted you?