What is progress studies?

Progress studies is viewed primarily as a set of premises and values that emphasizes the importance of understanding, fostering, and accelerating progress. Jason Crawford explains that progress studies isn't meant to be a new academic field that replaces existing ones like history or economics; rather, it acts as a school of thought centered around the belief that progress can have significant positive effects on humanity. This entails focusing on the conditions and actions that facilitate progress and examining its root causes to better understand and sustain it.

The core ideas of progress studies involve recognizing that progress is not automatic or inevitable and requires deliberate effort to nurture and accelerate. This perspective shapes the questions asked, the phenomena studied, and the data analyzed, leading to actionable insights and policies aimed at advancing progress 1.

Furthermore, there are existing works in academia from economic historians and scholars which can provide a foundation for progress studies, although it hasn't gelled into a cohesive movement yet. The hope is to unify these efforts to bring more attention and focus to understanding and nurturing progress 2.