As is sometimes the case, one of my dear friends wanted to see the approach I have to answering particular types of academic questions, and so I thought it worthwhile to share my approach to answering such questions (as well as share my general perspective on questions of policy), so that others can read not only the views I state, but also the ways in which I approach answering a question where it is necessary to state both sides of an opinion. In general, as might be well-imagined, my thoughts on progress are somewhat complicated, and this essay represents an attempt to make it clear where I stand and why I have the thoughts I do about progress in general.

Within the public sphere as well as within government institutions and supranational organizations like the IMF and World Bank, there has long been a debate between which types of progress are the most important. Some people prioritize economic development, and others point to the need for progress to be far wider, including such concerns as the environment, education, the well-being of poor and minorities, and so on. I think that it is unwise to view different priorities towards progress as being more important than others, but also that economic development is a higher priority because focusing on economic development provides the means and foundation for which other forms of development and progress can take place, and without economic progress, other forms of progress are not likely to be successful or lasting. If we want a country to be enlightened, that country needs to have a sufficient standard of living to support the cultural and educational standards that requires.

While some people think of economic progress as merely involving an increase in income or in economic production, it is worthwhile to think of economic progress as including not only the standard of living within a given society, but also the legal system that allows for that prosperity to take place. If people are going to have lasting economic improvement, there needs to be security in property rights as well as in being able to rely on contracts, and this requires a firm basis in the rule of law and in the limitations placed on governments from tampering and interfering with the property and contractual rights of citizens and foreigners alike. A well-functioning public and private sector requires that people feel secure enough that their savings and income will not be seized by governments that they are able to operate through banking and investment, taking out and paying loans, investing in capital improvements that will pay off in the future, as well as being able to hire and fire labor to meet changing market conditions as well as the productivity and profitability of operations. This open and honest business activity then becomes the basis of reasonable and limited taxation that provides governments with reliable budgets that do not involve bribery or expropriation and allows them to focus then on other forms of progress that are deemed useful and worthwhile to that society.

Other forms of progress besides economic progress are useful but are to a large extent dependent on economic progress in one of two ways. One of these ways we have already alluded to. Often, in achieving economic progress, it is necessary to change the legal forms and structure of a nation, so that economic progress is connected to progress in reducing corruption and increasing the rule of law as well as economic freedom within a given country. Prioritizing economic development means tackling those issues that hinder economic development, and this means achieving other forms of progress while one seeks economic progress as the desired by-product of such changes. On the other hand, there are a great many forms of progress that we may deem to be desirable that are dependent on economic progress having been achieved to a certain extent. If we want nations to be able to protect their environment, they must be able to afford clean water, clean air, environmental regulations and the added cost this requires to business operations, as well as the need for people to make a good enough living that they are able to set aside space for the protection of plant and animal life prevented from large-scale economic use. Similarly, if we wish to prioritize the education of children and university and graduate education for a nation’s youth, families must have the economic security to not need these children to work to support the family’s standard of living and be able to sacrifice the present economic value of their labor for greater future productivity. A similar situation exists when we look at the desirability of preserving indigenous cultures within a country or improving their health or happiness, that the search for happiness and the worth of traditional culture or expenditures on treatments and medicines often depends on having enough economic security that one can celebrate what is beautiful but not necessarily profitable because one has the economic security to not be constrained by fears of starvation or extreme poverty. Most forms of progress require at least short-term economic sacrifice, and this requires a firm basis of economic strength to start from.

From the foregoing, we can understand that while economic progress may not be more important than other forms of progress, it is often fundamental to achieving the other sorts of progress that we may want within a society. If people do not have enough money, they are not going to be able to pay for expensive improvements in education, health, or the environment, to say nothing of other social or cultural development that we may desire. Similarly, prioritizing economic growth also means that we focus on those elements of progress that are necessary to achieve and preserve economic progress, such as reducing corruption, improving transparency within society, improving the rule of law as well as limited governments that serve the interests of the people and not their own Swiss or Cayman Island bank accounts. To the extent that our goal is widespread progress that is profound and lasting, that progress needs to rest on a firm material basis that allows people and governments to be able to afford programs for development in other priorities besides the economy. To believe that we can improve the environment or education or the well-being of a nation’s people without paying proper attention to how those people are to live, to eat, to work, and to be housed is foolish and short-sighted in the extreme.

When I sent this essay to my friend, I had to explain it and simplify it somewhat, because it was by no means obvious to her. After I explained it, she asked me how she should answer the same question herself and pointed out that my answer to the question sprang from my own general experience as well as the reading I have done in various subjects like economics. I then gave her an approach to the question that would be based on her own experience as I knew it, including the way that people behaved in her family when they thought they would be able to steal an interest in farming property from her father, for example. It struck me as intriguing that among the most important elements in providing exemplars and in teaching is not merely to show what one knows, but to draw conclusions and to explain matters via the perspective and with the background knowledge of the person one is teaching and interacting with. This is no easy feat.