Seminar with Mary Harrington: "Is progress a belief or a fact?"

In this first talk in our series The Protopia Conversations, Harrington asks a provocative question: "Are all the things we do under the banner of progress really making our lives better?"

In the Western world, there is a strong notion that the arc of history bends towards progress, towards a better future. Since the Enlightenment, our societies have undergone very rapid technological, economic and social change. Particularly since the 1960s, we have despised the traditions of the past and sought to remove all restrictions imposed by custom, religion and popular prejudice that might have stood in the way of individual rights and freedoms.

But more and more people are questioning this story. The rise of the populist right across the Western world is a manifestation of this discontent. Faith in liberal democracy is waning; young people, left and right, are increasingly turning to authoritarianism. Trust in institutions such as the media, universities and the family is declining rapidly. Christian affiliation is plummeting and birth rates are at historic lows, especially in secular societies. At the same time, the global economic machine we have created is destroying the very ecological foundations on which human life on earth depends.

Harrington argues that progress is a belief, not a fact, and that we need to have more honest conversations about what the good life is, what changes in society can support the good life, and whether respecting our natural limits and setting limits are necessary means of protecting the common good and the good life.

Mary Harrington is one of the most thought-provoking and intellectually rigorous writers of our time. She is a columnist and editor for UnHerd and runs her own weekly Substack Reactionary Feminist.

Mary describes herself as a reactionary feminist. She uses "reactionary" in recognition that "progress" in its current form is waging war on human nature. It sees "freedom" best served by reframing embodied men and women as atomised, de-sexed, fungible and interchangeable "humans" composed of disembodied "identity" plus body parts that can be rearranged at will, like meat LEGOs. She uses "feminism" in recognition of the fact that the proposal to atomise, de-sex and remodel "people" has profoundly negative effects on women. Feminism Against Progress is her first book.

Thanks to The Protopia Lab, on 22 and 23 May, Mary Harrington visits Barcelona for a seminar and an evening talk with the title “Is progress a belief or a fact?”.

The public conversation about our major social and environmental problems has become highly dysfunctional. More and more people are afraid to speak out publicly on certain issues. It is all about having the 'right' opinion. This growing dogmatism and the shutdown of pluralistic conversation stifles the creativity needed to tackle our most pressing and deep-rooted social and environmental problems.

Protopia Lab is an independent think tank and social innovation lab based in Barcelona. We believe that in order to have a chance of a peaceful and self-determined future, we need to break out of the current impasse and have honest conversations about the causes of our cultural crisis and how we can creatively use the crisis to take steps towards real human flourishing. The default direction of more authoritarianism and digital surveillance that the world seems to be taking will not achieve this.

Our aim is for this Protopia Conversation to be the first of many events and seminars to bring people together around our cause and plant the seeds for a better conversation.

This small seminar (max. 20 participants) with Mary Harrington on the 22nd of May will take place at the Ateneu Barcelonès in Barcelona (Carrer Canuda 6), from 18:00 - 21:30. The seminar will be held in English. There will be a break at which time a light snack will be provided. This seminar is aimed at participants who would like to explore Mary Harrington's ideas in more depth and in a participatory way. Catalan philosopher Jordi Pigem will join and co-facilitate the conversation.

(*) There will also be an evening talk with Mary Harrington on Thursday 23rd May at the same Ateneu Barcelonès, from 18.30 to 20.00. We will be inviting participants to join us for a drink in the courtyard of the Ateneu after the event

Event Venue

Carrer de la Canuda, 6, 6 Carrer de la Canuda, Barcelona, Spain