Customer Reviews

The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Two chapters into this book, I thought, "wow, everyone should read this!" Two chapters further, I wondered if the publisher had accidentally mixed pages from another book into my copy.

The premise of "The Progress Paradox" is that all the gloom and doom forecasters are not only currently wrong, but have been wrong for generations. By every measurable standard, things are getting better, not just for Americans in general, but for the world at large. There is more prosperity, less hunger, a better environment, etc.

The introduction, chapter one, and chapter two are true to this theme. They outline in remarkable detail exactly how our lives are better than those of our forebearers and what kind of work our ancestors had to do to make oure lives better. In chapter 3, Easterbrook outlines reasons why Americans fail to believe the proof before their eyes.

But in chapter 4, he starts a high handed moral lecture. After telling the reader things are better, we should be more grateful for what we have, and we should learn to appriciate life, more, he then attacks the reader for not doing anything about poverty in America, for not insuring all American citizens, and for allowing hunger to exist in the world. Now, if Easterbrook had any suggestions, even ridiculous ones, this would not be so bad, but he goes from telling the reader "everything is better than you think it is" to telling the reader, "no! I lied! Everything IS going to hell in a handbasket and it's ALL YOUR FAULT!"

This does not sell his initial message.

He continues to lecture his middle class American readers (who can afford to spend $25 on a hardback book) about buying SUVs, talking on cell phones, and other technological advances he sees as nothing more than displays of immorality. After telling us that not only our lives are better, but the lives of the poor worldwide are better, he lecures us for not making massive governmental and sociatal sweeping changes - but never once suggests HOW we are supposed to do so.

Somewhere towards the middle of the book, he starts referncing his belief in Christianity, then instructing "good Christians" on their moral duties. Towards the end of the book, he says people will be unhappy until "the Lord returns to Earth." A book which started as a scientific analysis of progress and perception ends as a very unscientific sermon.

Easterbrook insists the reader should personally cure AIDS in Africa, insure the American poor, eliminate world hunger, and all while working with international agencies. Other than sending a check to the charity of your choice, he never suggests HOW to enact these sweeping changes. Easterbrook insists to not do so is immoral, but average Americans who can not get more than a form letter in response from their senators are left with no suggestions as to how they can enact these changes.

The end result is, instead of empowering the reader to feel good about our place in world history and offering reasonable suggestions for how we can help elliviate the suffering of others, this book turns into a moralistic lecture on hedonism. In the last chapter, he tries to sweep all the lecturing under the rug with a short happy ending. This defeats the book's alleged purpose.

I would highly recommend the introduction and first two chapters, and would guardedly recommend chapters 11 and 12, but can not in good concience recommend this book as a whole.

Progress has become the Pandora's Box of today; we live longer, eat better, have more things but are essentially unhappy. Our perception is that just as these great advances creep out of the box, so do their equally nasty counterparts. Easterbrook's new book confronts the disconnect between prosperity and happiness with many statistics, observations and conclusions. The major flaw in Easterbrook's book is the reach for the easy answer or starry eyed optimism about our ability to completely solve problems. Pessimism exists for a reason just as optimism does; they balance each other out like some bizarre ying and yang helping to provide meaning in our brief lives.

On the whole, though Easterbrook's observations and comments are powerful and on the mark; we live in an age of enlightenment only to deny our ability to enjoy the outcome of progress. Easterbrook is most successful when taking a deep look at our inability to enjoy what we've worked so hard for but also his arguments for examining the pessisism and darkness that we've allowed to cloud our lives. While we live in a cynical world dotted with irony and sarcasm, we've allowed these very qualities which are useful in measured degrees to infect every aspect of our lives. While it may be fashionable to be all of these things to a large degree, it's also eroded our perception on the quality of our life. We no longer believe that good things happen to us without a price. We no longer believe that there's actually goodness in the world that can keep our darker nature at bay. These beliefs are essential for providing some sense of balance. If we believe the sky is always falling, then the vitality of our everyday lives is stolen from us.

In effect, we've allowed the darkness to suck all the fun out of our lives. While some of us feel worse about the quality of life for many valid reasons (for example, mutlitasking hasn't improved the quality of work just the load that we can do), we've also dismissed the improvements we have compared to our ancestors. To give Easterbrook credit he doesn't shy away from the fact that we've yet to solve poverty, malnutrition or unemployement. He also acknowledges that disease continues to slip through our fingers just as we think we've got a solid grip on it.

Easterbrook's book isn't always convincing--he sometimes goes for the easy answer when there may be no answer at all--but it does make compelling and thought provoking reading. Perhaps next time he can examine the state of humanity without getting lost in the statistics that rule and help undermine our sense of the quality of life. It would also be useful if he looked at what's causing the nihilistic hypochondria that's sweeping this nation. In many ways, we face challenges that are equally as daunting as those our great-grandparent's faced. While we may have antibiotics, science and nutrition on our side, we also have media that allows instant communication (like this forum)that can decimenate as readily as any virus or bacteria that killed our ancestors. We're overwhelmed with information which can be just as emotionally daunting as some of the issues that faced those before us. If Easterbrook wants to come to the table with solutions or suggestions to make us feel better, he needs to think them out a bit more and understand the consequences of the oversatured world we live in today.

The Progress Paradox is not a perfect book. It can be repetitive at times, and Easterbrook can sound a bit preachy when discussing certain topics. Despite these small flaws the book is highly readable, often very enjoyable, and serves an important purpose. Easterbrook is an excellent writer and stays reliably non-partisan despite the politically charged nature of some of the topics he covers, making The Progress Paradox far more credible than the many left- or right-wing tomes currently clogging bookstore shelves.

There are essentially three parts to The Progress Paradox. In the first part Easterbrook makes the case that life is indeed getting better. Through countless examples, some of which are truly stunning, Easterbrook methodically shows that in virtually every measurable way our lives are not just better, but significantly better, than they were a generation or two ago. This applies not only to personal indicators such as health, wealth, and leisure time, but also to larger geopolitical trends such as the spread of democracy.

In the book's second act Easterbrook explains why, despite the overwhelming number of positive indicators, people tend to feel like things are getting worse. Easterbrook examines a multitude of causes ranging from simple biology to the media's obsession with bad news. Politicians, in particular, are demonstrated to have a vested interest in making sure that Americans think things are not going well.

In the final portion of the book Easterbrook attempts to strike an upbeat note, giving the reader a host of reasons to believe the future is going to be even better than the present. While this is where Easterbrook most tends towards preachy, it is undeniably refreshing to read something positive about the direction in which we are all headed.

Overall I found The Progress Paradox highly illuminating. In addition to being extremely educational, I think any reader will come away feeling better about their life and about the world in general. I can honestly say that I think the world would be a better place if everyone read this book.

Some revealing points documented with statistics. I find it interesting how seldom the proven points Easterbrook makes have been reported in our principle news sources. From ABC, CBS or NBC news and talk programs, we take away the distinct impression everything is "going to the dogs". Easterbrook offers solid arguments against this mindset.
Newscasters can easily report from a biased view by omitting facts like Gregg reveals in the Progress Paradox. So, their stories often degenerate into propaganda. Such conduct was forbidden to news writers in previous years. That's no longer the case. One must now be on guard & question virtually every story lest we be misled.
Having been a professional newscaster, I am struck and aghast at the mode of news delivery in 2006 versus our accepted code up through the 1970's. At that time, we reported all the pertinent facts and let listeners make up their own minds.
I highly recommend the first half of Progress Paradox. However, the cures Easterbrook proposes in the last half sound a bit unrealistic. A big 5 stars for the first half - interesting reading. Maybe 2 for the last half.

If you've ever felt discontent, read this book. If, like many people, you aspire to a higher standard of living, you may think that when you achieve that promotion, the big house, the money or even improved health - you'll finally be happy. Yet happiness rarely comes. That's because real happiness is never contingent - or even directly related to - possessions or achievements. Happiness is a choice. Despite all the choices people make daily, this is the one choice many do not make - or quite possibly do not know how to make. Ultimately, happiness is about feeling grateful for what you have and sharing your abundance with others. Author Gregg Easterbrook explains how and why this incredible paradox - that progress does not necessarily improve human happiness - is a problem for so many people today and why your best chance of achieving happiness resides in helping others. We are happy to recommend this book.

I began this book with high hopes, having enjoyed similar books (such as Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point") tremendously. But after the first two chapters, it became increasingly apparent that what I'd thought would be an objective consideration of middle-class discontent was simply an opportunity for Easterbrook to scold readers (and society at large) for their collective ability to stay on the sunny side.

For an example of the logic you'll encounter in the book, consider this gem: at one point, Easterbrook argues that elderly Americans have no right to complain about the high cost of prescription drugs; after all, if those drugs didn't exist, seniors wouldn't be alive to complain.

If you find this a compelling argument, you'll probably enjoy the book. If not, save your time for a more worthwhile read.

Gregg Easterbrook sets a record within the first 40 or 50 pages by smashing virtually every urban legend of the "everything is getting worse" crowd that saturates our culture. His unbridaled sense of optimism is contagious, and the sheer magnitiude of our current health, peace and prosperity that he chronicles is stunning. His work is a lifeboat for anyone drowning in the sea of doom-and-gloom ink that radiates from every so called expert in our society. Just the first 50 pages alone are worth four stars!

Yet Easterbrook goes farther to examine why after all our successes, we still cling to fears of any and everything. He offers a handful of theories that probably combine in one way or another to explain our constant anxiety and inability to see the good in our lives, and how on some level this may be a good thing (what an optimist!)

This book doesn't have any political bent to it, but I imagine it really irritates anyone with that typical knee-jerk hatred of the United States, especially to see the incredible successes of this country in the last generation.

This is the perfect book for that Scrooge or Pollyanna on your holiday present list! Mr. Easterbrook presents a thoughtful, reasoned assessment of the current quality-of-life in the United States and Europe and sets it in a global context. He details improved purchasing power, declining crime rates, increasing longevity and cleaning of the environment. Poverty, murder, pollution all seemingly unsolvable have begun to yield to pragmatic approaches. The message I found most useful and hopeful was that our current set of seemingly intractable problems, i.e. the greenhouse effect, terrorism, should not defeat us but rational efforts with honest reassessments may bring results. We can rejoice that our glass is half-full!!

I really enjoyed this book, and recommend it highly. It is very well-written and presents a wide range of complex material in a very understandable format. Almost all the major indicators of social and economic life in the West are improving, yet depression is up and many feel a loss of meaning in life. The book has a spirituality dimension, but it also a policy book. Great reading!

Mr. Easterbrook makes a very convincing case that almost everyone is better off than their ancestors from even a generation ago. Incomes are up, most people own homes, we eat out lost, and education is available almost universally. From his evidence, you'd think that everyone would be turning cartwheels on the front lawns of their mansions, but the opposite is true. More and more people complain of stress, overwork and depression. Part of that may come from the fact that we are constantly striving to keep up with our friends and neighbors as they buy more toys and bigger houses to hold them. After presenting the evidence of better societal standards, Mr. Easterbrook switches gears and proposes ways for society to cure its remaining ills, including redistribution of wealth from the wealthiest and an agenda for raising the prospects of second and third world countries. As much as I agree with Mr. Easterbrook's ideals, he couldn't propose an agenda that would realistically accomplish them. At the end of the book, I concluded that I was fortunate to have the abundance of wealth and health that I do, but did not walk away with any idea how to reach the societal goals that Mr. Easterbrook values.