The Economist has an excellent essay about the nature of progress. It examines progress from a variety of perspectives and then concludes that progress is real, but not inevitable and that technological progress must be governed by moral progress. I completely agree. The piece is also written very well. I would add that the moral sensibility (analyzed by an American philosopher named Susan Neiman) that the essay refers to must be informed by a spiritual sensibility. That is, people will not sacrifice without an orientation toward the ultimate mystery of life. This mystery Buddhists call emptiness. Christians, Muslims and Jews call the mystery God. If we take the time to let ourselves let go of the rivalries and anxieties that the world seems to force upon us and sit in silence then we will experience that we--individually--are loved and accepted completely. When we then share this experience with others through liturgy and communal practice, we experience that we are accepted in peace by and with others.
It is this experience of wishing humanity well and of knowing our shared dignity that best motivates each of us to take risks, to question communal injustices, to challenge powerful scientific, political and economic interests with the desire to help the world see the truth and to oppose injustice. It is this spiritual experience, described so beautifully by each of the world's great religions, that frees us to forgive, reconcile and fertilize our renewed institutions with human creativity.
It is this spiritual experience that motivated Gandhi, King and Buber. It is this spiritual experience that motivated other lesser known prophets like the prophetic Jan Karski--who voluntarily underwent the torment of a Nazi death camp to attempt to end the Holocaust. It is spiritual experience that motivates Nobel Prize winners like the Dalai Lama and Barack Obama. It is spiritual experience that motivates prophets to critique distortion in spiritual institutions.
Special thanks to the Economist for this insightful piece.
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