The Negative Architecture of Progress: Selecting Heritage

The article analyzes progress not as the sum of new achievements, but as a process of "subtraction"—the conscious abandonment of redundant or harmful civilizational elements (Letting Go). The author contrasts the historical persistence of institutions with their moral justification, using the concept of path dependence to explain why we maintain pathologies. A key element of selection is distinguishing archaic yet functional mechanisms for protecting freedom (e.g., the rule of law) from destructive practices. The text then moves to an analysis of war, indicating that it does not result solely from the moral degradation of individuals, but from a structural security dilemma in the international system, where the rational actions of states paradoxically lead to the escalation of tensions and armed conflicts.