Jason Crawford and Virginia Postrel: The Glamour of Tomorrow

How did mass production create new forms of glamour and desire? What role does beautiful design play in making the future feel worth pursuing? And if we were crafting that same sense of tomorrow's allure today, what stories would we tell? Virginia Postrel's essay "The World of Tomorrow" takes us back to the 1939 New York World's Fair, exploring the magnetic (shall we say mimetic?) appeal of that era's vision of the future, and what its glamorous optimism can teach us today. During this online salon with Virginia, we unpacked how the allure of new technologies and modern conveniences transformed not just daily life, but our dreams and aspirations. Together, we explored the seductive promise of progress: inviting highways, gleaming supermarkets, the freedom of credit... all the systems that used to make tomorrow feel irresistible. The Roots of Progress founder and writer Jason Crawford guided the discussion and facilitated questions from the audience. The conversation explored themes such as: Why glamour relies on suggestion rather than detailed plans How future-oriented imagery can inspire risk-taking and long-term projects When optimistic visions illuminate—and when they mislead What kinds of stories today’s creators could tell better about AI, energy, and space Suggested reading: Virginia Postrel, “The World of Tomorrow,” Works in Progress https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-... About Virginia Postrel: Author of The Power of Glamour, The Substance of Style, and The Fabric of Civilization; former editor of Reason magazine; writes on culture, economics, and design. About Jason Crawford: Founder of the Roots of Progress Institute, a nonprofit building a culture of progress for the 21st century; author of the forthcoming book The Techno-Humanist Manifesto. ---------------- Remember to visit our website to explore everything we offer: Attend public salons on history, science, literature, and more on interintellect.com Attend for free and get access to offline events too and our online forum: interintellect.com/community Start hosting your own Interintellect events: interintellect.com/hosting