What if "progress" isn’t progress at all, but a trap? In this episode of Footsteps in Utopia, Alex takes on The Progress Trap by Ben Cobley, a book that skewers the modern Left’s claim to moral and historical authority. Far from marching forward, Cobley argues, we’re stuck in a loop where virtue-signalling replaces real debate, history is rewritten to serve the present, and dissent is pathologised. It’s not about justice, it’s about control.
How has this ideology has captured institutions, silenced opponents, and built a moral high ground out of thin air? Why does “the right side of history” always seem to mean more centralised power and less freedom? Why does “liberalism” feel so rigid and authoritarian? This is a conversation for anyone who suspects the people shouting loudest about progress might actually be the ones holding us back.
If you’d like to buy Ben’s book, which you should, you can do so here. Visit his Substack and follow him on X.
