Earlier last year, I read a biography of Jane Adams, the founder of the settlement movement in the US who went on to play a major role in labor rights, child welfare reform, local government, women’s suffrage and more. She would eventually become the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Jane Adams was not without controversy. Notably, she was willing to compromise on racial equality to progress her agenda of gender equality.
What struck me most about Jane Adams is how normal we find her ideas today, despite how radical they were at the time. She advocated for the 50 hour and then 40 hour work week. She advocated for the weekend. She advocated for sanitation services. She worked on the prohibition of child labor in the US. She worked on women’s suffrage and against racial segregation.
100 years later, we take her radical and progressive changes for granted. What will society, 100 years from now, take for granted that today is radical and progressive? What are the “100 Year Ideas”?
