The idea of progress has been central to the Left since its inception. From the French Revolution on, the task was nothing less than the struggle to free humanity from the bonds of necessity.

But today faith in progress has been severely diminished. While we have made incredible productive and technological leaps, the benefits have fed into a social system built upon exploitation and domination. The result is an overriding sense of hopelessness in the face of the accumulation of power and wealth at the very top of society.

In this issue, we provide a nuanced picture of where progress has been made in both technological and social terms — and how it has been reversed.

We take a sober look at the contradictions at the heart of social development in capitalism, such as how leaps in productivity in the developing world have been combined with rising inequality across advanced countries, or how social advances in some spheres have been combined with newly emerging forms of authoritarianism.

We also show how socialists have been an indispensable force behind those historical moments when genuine progress has been made — when social wealth has been redistributed, when the most vulnerable have earned new rights and protections, and when peace has been briefly secured.

“Progress” features incredible design and outstanding new writing by Branko Milanović, Jennifer C. Pan, Göran Therborn, William Shoki, Maya Vinokour, and many others. It’s an issue you don’t want to miss.