De geschiedenis van de vooruitgang
- Author: Rutger Bregman
- Page count: 385
- Started on: 2026/03/28
- Finished on: 2026/04/11
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
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I stumbled upon Bregman’s writing through his book Humankind: A Hopeful History, which I read in Dutch a few years ago (title: De meeste mensen deugen) and really liked for its optimistic view of history and then-current affairs.
De geschiedenis van de vooruitgang is one of Bregman’s earlier books, and unfortunately has not been translated into English. The title translates to “The history of progress”, which accurately describes the book’s content. It first covers spans of thousands of years before focusing on the past few centuries.
The basic premise of the book is that progress is consistent, but neither constant nor guaranteed. Just as we are the beneficiaries of the progress of the past, we also bear the responsibility to preserve it and create improvements for future generations.
I like the topic that the book explores, and the examples of progress through the ages help put things into perspective. Bregman also spends a lot of time comparing the opinions of other writers, which is not my favorite style. It’s not my favorite of Bregman’s writings, but it’s not bad either.
