Current debates about social progress question the effectiveness of piecemeal reform measures in addressing today’s greatest societal challenges. Some leading thinkers, including psychologist Steven Pinker and entrepreneur Peter Diamandis, claim that sustained social progress is achieved by incremental changes to systems that we already have. Others, such as activist Edgar Villanueva and journalist Anand Giridharadas, argue that our worsening societal crises—from increasing wealth…

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