Abstract
This session explores the idea of progress, its necessity and its dangers, within the framework of the philosophy of history and the concept of class. Progress is an idea that is both necessary and dangerous : necessary to improve the world and address injustices, but dangerous because it has often been used to justify paternalism, colonial domination and narratives of civilizational superiority. A critical philosophy of history would seek to integrate human efforts to act justly into a coherent whole, without disappearing with the individuals. The category of class plays a central role here, as it enables us to understand the social and economic dynamics that shape these historical trajectories and their inequalities.
