The arc of history does not simply bend toward justice

Ronald Reagan was wrong. The nine most terrifying words in the English language are not “I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.” They are: “The arc of the moral universe bends towards justice.”

- Adrian Wooldridge, Tribune News Service

This is a pretty phrase that was invented by a good person, Theodore Parker, and revived by another good one, Martin Luther King Jr. But it’s terrifying because it produces unjustified confidence that history is on your side, and this has consequences. Donald Trump might well not be in the White House if progressives hadn't been so convinced that the moral universe was bending in their direction. The phrase presumes that history has a pre-determined direction. But Karl Popper demonstrated that such historical determinism is based on a fallacy: The direction of history is clearly shaped by inventions (the internet or AI), and we cannot predict what these will be.