Join us

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Newsletter

Aldo Schiavone

What is Progress

Cover: What is Progress - Aldo Schiavone

Aldo Schiavone

What is Progress

2021, pp. 128, Paperback
ISBN: 9781787702998
Translated by: Ann Goldstein
Region: Italy
Book collection: Europa Compass
Available as ebook Available as ebook Available as ebook
£ 11.99

The book

Does it still make sense to talk about progress?

The word “progress” conjures up a positivistic view of the world, a late Victorian boundless trust in humanity’s talents for discovery and invention, and of advancement in any field, whether cultural or otherwise. But what happened after that? Did two World Wars splinter those certainties, causing progress to become separate from the idea of advancement? And can we still, nowadays, after and during an all-encompassing technological revolution, talk about progress? According to Schiavone, the financial crisis of 2008 proved a turning point, the moment when governments and people found themselves forced to act just to defend and keep what had already been achieved. The only possible solution to the ensuing political and cultural deficit is a global response that transcends the particular interest of this or that country. This is being amply demonstrated now, in the midst of the new global emergency that is coronavirus. Completed just before the start of the crisis, and with the addition of a chapter dedicated to it, these pages interrogate the progressive function of technology of science, not as alien powers but as integral part of what makes us human.

The author

Aldo Schiavone
Aldo Schiavone is the author of Spartacus, Pontius Pilate, and The Invention of Law in the West. He was a professor of Roman law at the Istituto Italiano di Scienze Umane, which he founded. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he lives in Rome.

Books by region

  • Cover: The House of Gazes - Daniele Mencarelli

    Daniele Mencarelli

    The House of Gazes

    2024, pp. 224, £ 14.99
    A powerful coming-of-age story about loss, identity, and rebirth.
  • Cover: The Mortal and Immortal Life of the Girl from Milan - Domenico Starnone

    Domenico Starnone

    The Mortal and Immortal Life of the Girl from Milan

    2024, pp. 144, £ 14.99
    An enchanting story, in the unique voice of one of Italy’s greatest contemporary writers.
  • Cover: The Passenger: Naples - AA.VV.

    AA.VV.

    The Passenger: Naples

    2024, pp. 192, £ 18.99
    For better or worse, Naples always amazes.
  • Cover: Shifting the Moon from its Orbit - Andrea Marcolongo

    Andrea Marcolongo

    Shifting the Moon from its Orbit

    2024, pp. 144, £ 13.99
    A reflection on loss, memory, and what we owe to the past, inspired by a night spent in Athens’ Acropolis Museum.
  • Cover: The Throne - Franco Bernini

    Franco Bernini

    The Throne

    2024, pp. 384, £ 14.99
    Machiavelli is famous the world over, but who was he before he penned The Prince?
  • Cover: The Art of Running: From Marathon to Athens on Winged Feet - Andrea Marcolongo

    Andrea Marcolongo

    The Art of Running: From Marathon to Athens on Winged Feet

    2024, pp. 192, £ 12.99
    A fresh, accessible approach on the classics and their wisdom from one of Europe’s most original and compelling scholars of ancient Greece and Rome...

More suggestions

  • Cover: Bite your Friends: Stories of the Body Militant - Fernanda Eberstadt

    Fernanda Eberstadt

    Bite your Friends: Stories of the Body Militant

    2024, pp. 288, £ 9.99
    A history of the body as a site of resistance to power, and a subversive memoir.
  • Cover: The Passenger: Naples - AA.VV.

    AA.VV.

    The Passenger: Naples

    2024, pp. 192, £ 18.99
    For better or worse, Naples always amazes.
  • Cover: Shifting the Moon from its Orbit - Andrea Marcolongo

    Andrea Marcolongo

    Shifting the Moon from its Orbit

    2024, pp. 144, £ 13.99
    A reflection on loss, memory, and what we owe to the past, inspired by a night spent in Athens’ Acropolis Museum.
  • Cover: The Passenger: South Korea - AA.VV.

    AA.VV.

    The Passenger: South Korea

    2024, pp. 192, £ 18.99
    The Passenger goes in search of the new home of cool.
  • Cover: The Art of Running: From Marathon to Athens on Winged Feet - Andrea Marcolongo

    Andrea Marcolongo

    The Art of Running: From Marathon to Athens on Winged Feet

    2024, pp. 192, £ 12.99
    A fresh, accessible approach on the classics and their wisdom from one of Europe’s most original and compelling scholars of ancient Greece and Rome...
  • Cover: Living with Our Dead - Delphine Horvilleur

    Delphine Horvilleur

    Living with Our Dead

    2024, pp. 144, £ 12.99
    In this moving and engaging book by one of France’s few female rabbis and leader of the country’s Liberal Jewish Movement, Delphine Horvilleur...