1/ Progress is a 3-way contest between has-beens, never-was-es and could-have-beens. When all grumpily accept each other, things get better.
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2/ Has-beens are those who have to accept that their dominance must decline.
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3/ Never-was-es are those who anointed successors who must accept that their claims are nullified by the decline of the has-beens
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4/ And could-have-beens are upstarts who must be satisfied with less than hoped for, but more than has-beens/never-was-es wanted to cede.
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5/ Progress *depends* on leaving *all* these parties unsatisfied. Any one being fully satisfied means the game is over.
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6/ So paradoxically, the best sign of progress is universal dissatisfaction.
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7/ Specifically, universal dissatisfaction that is nevertheless not enough to address with violence, but enough to cause loud grumbling
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