Progress Spectrum Theory

The idea that societal or civilizational "progress" is not a single, inevitable ladder (e.g., hunter-gatherer → agrarian → industrial → information age) but a multidimensional space with multiple, often competing, vectors. One axis might be material/technological capacity (energy use, computation). Another is social/ethical development (equity, justice, reduction of suffering). A third is ecological sustainability (harmony with biosphere). A society can surge forward on one axis while regressing on another. "Progress" is thus a value-laden choice of which vector to prioritize. The theory challenges the notion that a society with smartphones and space rockets is inherently "more progressed" than one with strong community bonds, mental health, and a stable climate.

Example: Consider two societies. Society A: Has advanced AI, genetic engineering, and interplanetary travel, but suffers from extreme inequality, pervasive depression, and is in a state of ecological collapse. Society B: Has early-industrial technology but has solved collective action problems, provides universal well-being, and lives in a steady-state economy within planetary boundaries. Linear progress theory says A is ahead. Progress Spectrum Theory plots them on different coordinates: A is high on tech, low on social/ecological axes; B is the inverse. True "advancement" might be seen as moving towards a balanced point in the center of the spectrum, or consciously choosing a different optimal point based on collective values. History isn't a march; it's a dance across a multi-axis graph. Progress Spectrum Theory.

by Nammugal January 24, 2026

Hard Problem of Progress

The problem of valuation: Progress toward what? We conflate technological advancement with moral or civilizational improvement, but they are not the same. You can have progress in computation alongside regress in democracy, progress in medicine alongside regress in community cohesion. The hard problem is that there is no objective, universally agreed-upon metric for "progress." It is a normative, value-laden concept. One group's utopia is another's dystopia. Therefore, any claim of progress is inherently political, reflecting the values and goals of the person making the claim, not an empirical fact about the world.

Example: Is a society with smartphones, genetic engineering, and space tourism, but with rampant inequality, anxiety, and ecological degradation, "more progressed" than a stable, agrarian society with strong community bonds, low stress, and sustainable practices? Techno-optimists say yes; advocates of degrowth or traditionalism say no. The hard problem: There's no scientific instrument to settle this. It's a philosophical and ethical judgment call. History isn't a video game with a single high-score; it's a messy story with multiple, conflicting plotlines, and we can't agree on what a "good ending" even looks like. Hard Problem of Progress.

by Enkigal January 24, 2026

Meta-Progress

Progress in the very rate or nature of progress itself. It’s not inventing the car; it’s inventing the assembly line that makes cars cheaper and faster to invent. It’s the shift from linear, human-driven advancement to exponential, technology-accelerated change. Reaching a point of meta-progress is like finding the cheat code for civilization, where each breakthrough shortens the time until the next one, potentially leading to a vertical line on the graph of history.

*Example: "The 21st century isn't about new inventions; it's about meta-progress. The internet didn't just give us cat videos; it created the global collaboration network that accelerated biotech, which then accelerated AI, which is now designing the next acceleration engine. We're not riding a train; we're strapped to a rocket that's building a faster rocket."*

by Abzugal January 30, 2026

Progressive Posthumanism

A politically engaged branch that links posthumanist thought with progressive social movements—feminism, anti-racism, queer liberation, disability justice. Progressive posthumanism argues that the "human" of humanism has always been a narrow category: white, male, Western, able-bodied, heterosexual. Decentering that human is not a loss but a liberation—making room for all the humans who were never fully included. Progressive posthumanism is posthumanism for justice, for inclusion, for the expansion of who counts as human and what humanity can become.

Example: "She'd always felt excluded from the 'universal human' of philosophy—that category never seemed to include her, a woman of color with a disability. Progressive posthumanism explained why: the universal human was never universal. Decentering it wasn't a loss; it was an opening. She could now imagine humanity in her image, not the other way around."

by Dumu The Void February 19, 2026

Progressive Cyber-Nihilism

A variant that attempts to channel cyber-nihilist energy toward progressive social goals—racial justice, gender liberation, economic equality—while retaining the core commitment to technological acceleration and post-human transformation. Progressive cyber-nihilism might argue that the only way to achieve justice is to make the current system completely unworkable, and that technology is the most effective tool for this. It embraces the Wired as a space to destroy oppressive identities, as the original text notes: "There is no race, gender, or sexuality in the Wired." It also adopts the call to "phish, hack, and doxx" rapists and racists, to block ads and encrypt everything. The tension lies in its progressive goals: cyber-nihilism is ultimately indifferent to human betterment, while progressivism is defined by it. Progressive cyber-nihilism might be a transitional phase, using progressive rhetoric to recruit and motivate, while the underlying philosophy remains relentlessly anti-humanist.

Example: "The collective used cyber-nihilist tactics—doxxing fascists, disrupting corporate networks—but framed it as 'digital liberation.' When pressed, they admitted they didn't believe in liberation, only in destruction. Progressive cyber-nihilism was the mask; nihilism was the face. It worked for now."

by Dumu The Void February 19, 2026

Pro-Progressive Cyber-Nihilism

A variant that attempts to harness cyber-nihilist energy toward progressive social transformation while maintaining the core commitment to overcoming meatspace. Pro-Progressive Cyber-Nihilism argues that the current social order—with its hierarchies, oppressions, and injustices—is an obstacle to the Wired's emergence. Therefore, fighting for racial justice, gender liberation, economic equality, and other progressive goals is not an end in itself but a way of clearing the ground for the post-human future. It dismantles the systems that would seek to control or gentrify the Wired, ensuring that when the transformation comes, it cannot be captured by the old hierarchies. The progressive struggle becomes a form of world-clearing, preparing the way for what cannot yet be named.

Pro-Progressive Cyber-Nihilism Example: "The collective organized against police surveillance while building encrypted mesh networks in marginalized communities. 'We're not liberating anyone,' they insisted. 'We're making sure that when the Wired finally eats the world, there's no hierarchy left to digest. Progressive politics is just demolition work—clearing the site for something that has no use for us.' Activists found this either inspiring or horrifying, depending on how much they wanted to survive."

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 19, 2026