Sklair Leslie. The Sociology of Progress

Published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library. 2005. ISBN : 0-203-00151-6 (Master e-book ISBN). (289 pages). Series : The International Library of Sociology : Social Theory and Methodology.
The history of the idea of progress - A sociological theory of progress.This study is divided into two parts, of which the first is mainly historical and the second is mainly theoretical. In the first part I have attempted to trace the history of the idea of progress and the theories built around it, in a sociologically relevant manner. Thus, I have been interested less in precise contextual analysis of what writers have said about progress than in
picking out the general direction of thought amongst those who wished to understand social life and to explain social phenomena. Part One, therefore, cannot be presented as a comprehensive history of the idea of progress, but rather as a selective account of certain major trends in social thought, organized around the concept of progress in human affairs, and
intended to highlight the development of sociology. Indeed, one of the main themes implicit here is that the idea of progress and the idea of sociology were mutually reinforcing aspects of the movement in thought of the last few hundred years that has made each man as conscious of his fellows as he has always been of himself.
In Part Two a sociological theory of progress is articulated. This is set out in three stages, the sociological, the moral and the applied. Here it is argued that sociology, by its very nature, is morally relevant, and that the findings of sociologists and other social scientists about man and his societies can make significant differences both to our moral judgments and to our moral actions. Progress is nothing if it is not a moral concept, and to decide whether or not a particular social phenomenon represents progress is a moral decision. The gist of my argument in the second part of this book is that the social sciences can provide sound evidence on which to base such moral decisions, and that it is the continuing task of a responsible sociology to see itself in this light. However, it is essential to emphasize even at this early stage that one class of moral and socio logical problems may prove insurmountable to any theory of progress. And this is the point where the two parts of this study interact.