About
Welcome to my website!
My name is Michael Magoon. I am the author of the From Poverty to Progress book series on progress, history, economic growth, technology, and innovation. The first book in the series, From Poverty to Progress, explains the origins and causes of human material progress. The second book in the series, Promoting Progress, is now available in prerelease. My third book, Upward Mobility, will likely be out in 2024.
In addition to my book series, I also have:
- Substack column
- YouTube channel
- The Ratchet of Technology an online library of 280+ book summaries on topics related to progress, history, economic growth and technological innovation.
First a bit about me and my background:
- BA in Modern History from the University of California at Berkeley
(followed by a lifetime of reading about history) - Ph.D. in Political Science and Public Policy from Brown University
- Former professor of Political Science and Public Policy
- 20+ years of work experience as a Technical Writer and User Experience Designer in the Technology industry. I have worked for a number of companies, including Apple, Microsoft, Intel, Oracle, and Verizon.
I created this website and started writing my book series to:
- Promote an awareness and understanding of progress.
- Generate ideas, policies and practices that:
- Reduce the factors that undermine the foundations of progress
- Enable the maximum number of people, particularly those with below-average income, to enjoy the benefits of progress
- Mitigate the damage caused by negative side-effects of progress without undermining the foundations of progress.
Why Am I Doing This?
While many authors and bloggers have written on topics related to progress, relatively few focus explicitly on the concept. Even using the term “progress” has fallen out of favor with many authors.
This is unfortunate.
I believe that more systematic thinking about the concept and greater use of the term “progress” will:
- Increase positive thinking at a time when more and more people seem to dwell on the negative
- Promote a sense of gratitude for what our ancestors have done for us
- Create a pragmatic, “can do” attitude, when more and more feel overwhelmed by current and future problems
- Give people ideas for how to solve current problems by copying what has already worked in the past
- Accelerate progress to the benefit of future generations, particularly those who currently have less.
I hope this website plays a small role in doing all this.
Enjoy!
Contact Me
If you have any questions or would like to give feedback on the book or website, use the following form: