Why subscribe?
Progress is possible. Not inevitable. Possible.
The uncomfortable truth is that progress has been unevenly distributed. When it concentrates in too few hands, societies stagnate.
Distributed Progress explores how we can understand, expand, and distribute progress across the shifting landscape of mobility, technology, and geopolitics.
Not sure where to start? Read my post “What is Distributed Progress?” to learn more about the meaning behind the title of this Substack.
What We Explore
Each week, we publish insights and analyses that form the foundation of our upcoming book. We explore the intersections of:
Science
Technology
Geopolitics
Internationalization
Higher Education
We focus on how emerging technologies can revitalize areas of stagnation while ensuring their benefits extend beyond traditional centers of power.
What is Distributed Progress?
We examine distributed progress through three interconnected lenses:
As a knowledge ecosystem — The transition from centralized hierarchies to hybrid, networked systems of co-creation.
As a geopolitical reality — The collision of technological acceleration with a fracturing world order.
As an ethical imperative — The pressing need to distribute agency broadly across society, countering its concentration in narrow elites.
As William Gibson noted, "the future is already here—it's just not evenly distributed."
We believe we need both better theories of progress and practical interventions to ensure that technological advancement empowers humanity broadly rather than concentrating power in a few hands.
Join our Community
Join our community of researchers, leaders, educators, and policymakers committed to advancing the scientific study of progress. Together, we recognize that:
Progress is not automatic — it emerges from specific conditions, institutions, and cultural values that can be studied.
Agency matters — progress happens when more people gain the tools and opportunities to create value while empowering others in turn.
Experimentation is essential — We need more real-world testing of institutional structures, incentives, and technologies that might advance progress.
We Hope You’ll Contribute!
This isn’t just another newsletter—we’re a growing community committed to building a better future for internationalization.
You’re joining others, building this community together. Your insights, feedback, and ideas will shape where it goes.
Share your thoughts in the comments, engage in discussions, or email us directly—we’d love to hear from you!
