{"product_id":"9781509567621","title":"The Progress Trap The Modern Left and the False Authority of History","description":"\u003ch1\u003eThe Progress Trap\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch2\u003eThe Modern Left and the False Authority of History\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBen Cobley\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003ePolitical Science \/ Political Ideologies \/ Conservatism \u0026amp; Liberalism\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe idea of progress, one of the animating ideas of Western civilization, has now gone global. From Marxism and neoliberalism to today’s mutant identity politics, it offers a framework of knowledge and confidence: an assurance that things will get better and that history is on our side. However, in doing this it creates a form of authority that is simultaneously imaginary and dishonest, resting on confidence in a future that is really contingent and unknowable.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Progress Trap\u003c\/i\u003e, Ben Cobley looks at this progressive mindset as a form of power, conferring a right to act and control others. ‘Change’, ‘transformation’ and the ‘new’ are the superior values, meaning destruction of the old: people, cultures and nature. It is a trap into which nearly all of us fall at times, so attractive are its stories and familiar its techniques.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHard-hitting but thoughtful, the book is a meditation on the sinister consequences of the progressive way of being: for ourselves, for our democracy, for our art and for the pursuit of real knowledge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cb\u003eBen Cobley\u003c\/b\u003e is a journalist and former Labour Party activist. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Tribe: The Liberal-Left and the System of Diversity.\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e29 July 2025\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePolity Press\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePolity\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9781509567621\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHardback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e224\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight (oz): \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e16.8\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Polity Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44311125065868,"sku":"9781509567621","price":26.96,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/9781509567621_1f600686-bb4b-4b12-b04e-9d2ea2521308.jpg?v=1780233385","url":"https:\/\/fh90cf-fv.myshopify.com\/products\/9781509567621","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}